Summer of the Circle Game
by SqueegeeG
Summary: When Cam works at summer camp on a break from Maya, he meets someone knew. Will it last? Will he and Maya get back together? Told from the POV of the new girl.
1. Oh Canada

**BACKGROUND INFO: I'm Gigi, my boyfriend is Brian. RECrats are what Miss. Heb calls the kids who've been their the longest (like rugrats, we grew up there) I know this may be kinda boring but it's just the beginning my friends! All of it is told from my POV**

**Chapter 1: Oh Canada**

6/23/13  
I went to sleep late last night. At six I staggered to my feet and threw some clothes on. It's the last day of school. Camp starts tomorrow; my first year as a counselor.  
I sit next to Julia on the bus. The seats are sticky from the humidity and my being in shorts makes for an... uncomfortable ride. The bus stops at the lobby entrance and my legs make a shellacking sound as I rip them from the leather.  
I head to my locker and unpack my bag. Brian sneaks up behind me, "well hello there." I flinch. "God you scared me!" I say, turning to face him. He's wearing a gray t-shirt and black jeans with his Timberland boots on. God he's hot. "Don't scare me like that!" I pout, wrapping my arms around his neck and entwining my fingers together. He puts his hands on my waist. "Sorry." He says with a slight laugh. I roll my eyes and smile. "Well B, it's the last day of school. I'm gonna miss you this summer." I say looking over my glasses and giving him the puppy dog eyes. "I'll miss you too gee." He admits, kissing me. The bell rings and we detach. "I love you Bry, I'll see you later, bye." I give him a peck on the lips. "Bye Gee I love you too." "Forever and always." He says, kissing my forehead. We part ways to get to our home rooms. "Oh and Gee?," I turn to face him, "good luck on the Spanish exam. You'll be amazing." He remembers, smiling.

6/24/13

10:30AM  
"Good morning! Welcome to your first day at Recreational Summer Camp!" Miss. Hebner proclaimed. We sit in the art room for orientation, it's cold. This summer, due to so many kids enrolling, REC has been split into two camps: RECteen (ages 9-13) and RECkids (ages 3-8). RECteen was an overnight camp. I'd been chosen to work there this summer. Miss. Hebner finishes her speech. "Alright, in the boxes are your t-shirts, grab one and get to work! Oh and my RECrats, Gigi, Pavs, Andrew, Connor, Campbell, and Tori. Grab your clipboard, walkie-talkie, and whistle then get to your cabins. Gigi you're with Campbell, Pavs is with Andrew; naturally. And Tori, you are with Connor. Congrats and good luck!  
I walk over to the green picnic table and grab a shirt and clipboard, walkie, and whistle. I attach the walkie to the seem of my pants and put the whistle around my neck. Someone taps me on the shoulder, I turn around. "Hi, you must be Gigi. I'm Campbell Saunders, well, my friends call me Cam." "Nice to meet you." I say shaking his hand, trying to balance the shirt on my arm and swapping the clipboard to my other hand. "I'm Gioia Carlo, my friends- and Miss. Heb, call me Gigi." "It's nice to meet you too. I just got in from Kapiskasing, Canada. My brother and I used to go here. We lived in the states until I was four. And... I just gave you my life story. Sorry, I don't usually talk this much. Uh, we should probably go find our cabins. Were with..." He says glancing over the clipboard. "12 and 13's" "Oh god I remember being in that group! Working at the car washes and the carnival... Anyway, I'm in cabin 12a with the girls and you're next door, cabin 12b, with the boys. I'll walk you there."

"GIGI!" The girls scream as I walk into the cabin. "Hey girls! Happy first day of REC! It's so good to see all of you. I missed my girls!" "Who's the dude?" Alessandra asked after the greetings stopped. "This is Campb... this is Cam. He's my co-counselor." "OHHH!" They droned. "What about Scott?" "He graduated this year Yasmine." "Oh yeah..." "Alright girls I have to get attendance done and all of you unpacked before we can head to Arts and Crafts with Abby, okay?" "Okay." I put my suitcase in my room, a wing off of the cabin, and told the girls I'd be right back. "Wow they love you!" Cam said as we made our way next door. "I've known them since they were five and six. They're so old now!" "Hahaha. I hope the kids love me half as much as they love you." "Are you good at, slash, due you like sports." "I would say so." "Then they'll love you. You're as good as in. "

We open the door to the boy's cabin and watch them unpack. I spot Sebastian. "What up C-bass? Long time no see." We do our handshake (think "Parent Trap"). "Nothing much... Who's the dude?" "I'm Cam. I'm your counselor this summer." Sebastian nods in approval, glancing Cam over. He goes back to putting clothes away. I pull Cam aside. "Alright. Just hand out the name tags, make sure they unpack, and line them up outside. I'll take it from there." "Thank you." "No problem. Oh and, welcome to REC camp." I say patting his shoulder and walking back to my cabin.

We go down to A+C with Abby and the kids start making lanyards. Our LDP's, Jasmine and Miranda, watch the kids while Cam and I head to the staff cabin for our break. "Wow, this is hard work. How do you do it?" "Training. Lots and lots of training." I say grabbing a cup and filling it up with water. I sit across from Cam at a picnic table, and fill an LDP eval sheet out. "So, you said you were from Canada, right? Where did you go to school?" "Degrassi, I'm a Sophmore. Go panthers! Hahaha." "So you're 16?" "No. My birthday isn't until August. So, I'm still 15. So you go to WHS?" "Yes, just finished freshman year. Go wolverines!" I pause for a minute, watching Cam's distraught face. "Do you miss being this far away from home?" He thinks for a minute. "Home is here now. But I do miss my girlfriend Maya." "Oh so you do have a girlfriend." I say smiling. "Yes, the SS Cam is docked. Hahaha. What about you, do you have a boyfriend here?" "Well he's not here here. He's visiting family over the summer. His name's Brian." He nods approvingly then looks down at his watch. "Shit, we have New Games in 4 minutes! We better get out of here." I toss the water back and grab my clipboard.

"Alright we're playing pirate's four corner dodge ball. When you get out you have to say 'argh' and when I call out 'abandon ship', the throwers run out and tag whomever is left. Okay?" Joe explained. He blew his whistle and the game started. Cam and I sat on the bleachers and watched. "So do you miss your girlfriend?" "God yeah. She's my everything! I love her so much." "What's she like?" "She's blonde and petite. Oh and not to mention an award winning cellist. Plus she's smart, beautiful, and funny." "Wow, I hope I get to meet her one day. She sounds beautiful." He chuckles. "Whenever you're in Toronto, give me a buzz... What's your boyfriend like." "He's amazing. He's tall-ish, like 5'9", blonde,-haired, blue-eyed, smart, funny. He's also really respectful and polite. Not to mention cute." "Hahahaha, I guess we like blondes huh?" He said with a slight laugh. I smirked.

**Thanks for reading! I know there's no Camaya interaction yet, but it will come soon I promise! I'll update soon, probably during vacation or something. Please review! ~ SqueegeeG**


	2. Morning Lullabies

**Chapter two: Morning Lullabies  
**6/30/13 8:39 PM  
The kids are in bed and so am I. My pocket vibrates. I pull out my phone and check my messages. I have a new one from Brian.  
**Bry: Hey Gee, I know it's late but I just wanted to see if you were still up. I miss you. Stay safe beautiful. I love you -B**  
I smile over the screen and begin typing a response.  
**Me: Hey Bry, I miss you too. The kids are behaving and camp has started off very nicely. How's NC? Say hi to Sean for me. I love you, g'night ;)**  
I read the text over once more, then hit send.  
I look at the clock, 10:28. I lock my phone and put it on my bedside table. I take off my glasses, placing them just left of my phone. I slide down into my bed and pick up the picture collage I'd made earlier in the year. I look at the picture from last summer, at Julia's pool party. We look happy. I put the picture down and turn off my lamp, lazily drifting off to sleep.

I woke up in a cold sweat. I turn my lamp on. Cam's at the foot of my bed, looking concerned. "Hey, sorry if I scared you. I heard you yelling in your sleep and I came right over. Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?" I sit up, put my glasses on and breathing heavily. My throat feels dry. My head hurts... and I feel like crying. "Yeah I was uh..." I manage to choke out, "dreaming that uh, Brian got... shot. And I just had to watch...And." "Shhhh it's okay. It wasn't real." He says embracing me. He detaches and hands me a bottle of water. "Drink." I take a long gulp. I start shaking uncontrollably. Cam embraces me once more. He rubs his palm against my back. "There's no need to cry. Everything is fine." He wipes the tears from my eyes and I smile. "It... It felt so real." " They always do." We sit cross legged on my bed, facing each other. "I have dreams like that all the time about Maya. You just have to tell yourself that you're okay. You're gonna be alright." "Thank you." I say reaching out to hug him again. "I uh. I needed that." I say, exhaling and wiping the tears away. "Well what are co-counselors for?" I laugh. He looks at his watch. "You have a few more hours to sleep. And if you need anything, anything at all, I'm right next door." "You didn't have to do this." "Of course I did, friends help friends. It's like, moral code." I laugh. "Good night." He says, exiting through the screen door on the right side of my room, leading directly outside. His room is only about 23 yards away.  
I call Brian. He answers on the first ring. "What happened are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I had a bad dream again. I needed to hear your voice." "I'm glad you're okay. Was it the dream?" "Yes. But this time I couldn't help you and you just laid there... motionless." "Oh babe I'm sorry." "It's okay... Hey Bry?" "Yeah?" "Could you stay on the line until I fall asleep? I just want to hear your voice." "Of course." He starts to sing Morning Lullabies. I start to drift off to sleep. Brian finishes the song. When he thinks I'm asleep he whispers, "I want you to know that you're my everything and I love you. Forever and always. Goodnight beautiful." The phone clicks off. I slowly fall into a dream state.

6/31/13 7:24 AM  
"GOOD MORNING REC CAMP," the intercom blasted as I woke from a great dream. "Today's special is chicken pot pie with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. Bon appetite!"I crept out of my bed and threw on my REC shirt (purple this year). I went to the bottom drawer and pulled out a pair of jean shorts, then slid them on. I walked into the main cabin, where the girls were dressed and doing their hair. I take attendance and go over the days events. "Okay, this week we have the talent show. Anyone working on something? Nope? Okay. Number two, we, Cam and I, have to help set up for Olympic week so Jasmin, Miranda and Abby are in charge. Please don't get into any trouble... Alright we'll give the boys about 10 more minutes then we'll head out to breakfast." I wasn't feeling too cheery this morning and helping out with Olympic week won't improve my mood. I take out my walkie talkie, "Cam are you up and is attendance done?" "Yes master. We're outside awaiting your arrival." The girls snicker. I roll my eyes and smile, he's so strange sometimes.

**Chapter 2! Get excited, the next chapter is one of my favorites! ~ SqueegeeG**


	3. Its in his kiss

**Chapter 3: It's in his kiss  
**6/30/13 9:42 AM  
I head down the breakfast line, tray in hand, when Miss. Heb stops me. "Hey Gigi, how's the new guy? Any problems?" "None to report, he's like Scott 2.0. He's a great help with the kids and a really nice guy." "Glad it's working out. Oh, and don't have the eggs. My stomach has been hurting for days after eating them." "Note taken. Thanks Miss. Heb." "Anytime." I leave the line and walk to the counselor table. Cam and I are the only jr counselors at breakfast now. I sit across from him. He acknowledges me with a wave, then stares at his toast. "You okay? You look a little mopey." "Well, Maya and I had a fight. She told me she kissed another guy, who just so happens to be one of my best friend." "Wow that... Sucks. But, if my opinion matters to you at all, I'd give her another shot; hear her out. She was honest with you and that should count for something: everyone deserves a second chance." "Thank you. And you're right, honesty is really important. I'll talk to her later... If you don't mind me asking, how was your night after everything... Happened?" "Good. I called him and he stayed on the phone until I fell asleep. I needed to hear his voice ya know? Thank you again. I really needed your help. I owe you one." "It's common courtesy, but I will take that favor into consideration." He said, pretending to stoke a beard. I smirk. He's such a dork.

After breakfast we walk the kids to A+C then make a beeline for the turf. The other counselors are already there. Cam and I are assigned to pool set-up. We have to drive to the high school and pick up the pool toys. We take the REC van; Cam already has his permit.

"Did you talk to Maya?" I ask as we near WHS. "Well, sort of. We've decided to take a little break and see where we are in a week or so." "Oh... And you agreed?" "Gigi I love her and if I can get us back with this... Then I'll do it. I just want her to be happy." He says as we park. "A girl would kill to have you as a boyfriend." I say seriously. "But my heart belongs to Maya. Someday, we're going I get married, I just know it." "I hadn't even kissed my boyfriend until our 8 month anniversary..." I mutter, looking at the ground. "Sorry if this sounds rude, I have no filter but... Why not?" "Well, this was my first kiss as well as his and we wanted it to be special so... He waited. I tried every chance I had to kiss him, but it wasn't the 'right moment' as he put it." "Maya and I didn't kiss till our 1 month anniversary. I'm pretty shy about that kinda stuff... My friends drove me crazy about it too. They were all like, 'how far have you gone with mini-mat?' They call her that because her last name is Matlin and she has an older sister, Katie. I just, didn't want to ruin anything." He finishes as he held the door open for me. We walk in through the auditorium entrance. "So, how was the kiss?" I asked, prying a little. "There were sparks and ...Nothing is better than that kind of connection. You start getting closer and you feel like you can conquer anything." There's a short pause. "Wow, that's so sweet.. It's like something out of a lifetime movie." "I bet your's was like something out of a fairy tale." "Well..." "Tell me." "It's nothing special..." "TELL ME!" "Fine. We were watching The Notebook in his basement and it just happened okay?" "AWWWWW! That's cute." He says opening the pool door. It's lit by skylight. "It's so beautiful." I said, mesmerized by the way the light hit the water. "Quick, what's the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?" "Uhhhhh answers this question." He laughs at my honest answer. "Hahahaha. Well, we're going swimming." He says taking his shirt and shorts off, left only in clover boxers. He cannonballs. "What are you waiting for? Live for the moment!" I take off my shirt and shorts, now in nothing more than a bra and panties as a makeshift bikini. I jump in. "Why are we doing this?" I half laugh half whisper in excitement. "For fun. You need to learn how to live for the moment. Hashtag YOLO!" "Never say YOLO again. I won't be friends with you." I say "Maybe that's for the best..." There's a long pause. He looks at my lips. "What, spinach in my teeth?" "Hahahaha, no but-" He says wrapping his arms around me. He moves the hair from my face and kisses me. I back away. "I can't do this..." I say backing up further. "But, all those things you said about me being great guy and that 'anyone would be lucky to have me.' You don't like me? You weren't flirting with me?" "No, it was more to give you a self esteem boost. I wasn't flirting with you!" I say, throwing my arms up for emphasis. I'm shocked and a little scared. "Uh what just happened?" I hear a voice say. I didn't even hear the door open. We both turn... It's Brian.

**What I tell ya right! The Notebook kissing story is only sort of true. We did watch they notebook; however, it happened after, while we were watching the "Doll Parts" episode of Degrassi and I told him there was absolutely no way I'd ever do a beauty pageant. He said that he preferred that, because I don't need to get dressed up to be his princess. I know! We be cute.**


	4. I can't erase, so I'll take blame

**Chapter 4: "I can't erase, so I'll take blame"  
**"Bry, what are you doing here?" I say getting out of the pool. "I texted you... Who's that?" "Cam. We're coworkers, and nothing more." I say grabbing my clothes and running into the locker room. I sit on the bench, head in hands, crying. I just want it all to end. I love Brian, and I want to be with him... But then Cam comes along, all muscled and sweet. No, this isn't fair to either one of them. I get my clothes on and walk back into the pool entrance. Brian is nowhere in sight. I look to the left and see a pool of blood. Cam is clutching his arm tightly. It's wrapped in a blood-soaked towel. I dial 911. "Hello, yes. My friends hand is gushing blood and it won't stop. We're at the pool in WHS come quickly!" I rush over to Cam. No telling where Brian went. I take a look at Cam's arm. There's a huge gash on it about 3 inches long and a 1/4 inch deep. I wipe the tears from Cam's eyes. "Cam, you have to tell me. What happened." He's breathing heavily and convulsing. "I-got out of the pool to try and reason with him and he punched me. Then I'm on the ground and my hands gushing blood..." I grab a bottle of water from my bag and a few cookies. He looks pale. I make him drink all of the water and eat a few cookies. He's not responding. I tilt his head back and squirt the water into his mouth; he coughs a lot then regains color. the ambulance arrives, I walkie Miss. Heb to let her know what's up. I ride in the ambulance with Cam.**  
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**I know guys, it's a short chapter. I'm posting 2 chapters tonight to make up for it. Love you all, hope you had great Valentine's Day experiences. I know i did ;)**


	5. What about love?

Chapter 5: "What about love?"  
We're at Woodward Hospital. I'm in the waiting room. I read 3 Us Weekly's before the doctor comes out. He tells me Cam needs four stitches but it could have been much worse had I not called. I go in to see him. A nurse wraps a bandage around his wrist and orders him to eat the apple he was given. "Hey warrior," I say walking over to the examination table. "How's the hand feeling?" "Good. The doctor gave me painkillers and told me to take it easy for a week." "Cool. Oh and uh what happened back there? That has never happened, Bry is the most even tempered person I know. I can't imagine what got into him." There's a long pause. "Love." "What?" "Love... He couldn't stand seeing you with another guy and went ape shit cray cray." "Did you just say cray cray?" "It's the morphine talking." "Riiiiiight." "Anyway we better head back to HQ. REC must miss us." "Nope. We don't have to head back." He looks at me with knitted eyebrows. "Miss. Heb has granted us the rest of the week off for metal health purposes. Do you want frozen yogurt? My treat!" "Hahaha sure. Then can we talk? We can go to my place. The rents are out of town." "This sounds like a recipe for disaster... Then again so is my life... Sure what the hell, I'm in." I say, helping him off the examination table. We go to the cafeteria for frozen yogurt, then take a cab back to his place.

**Still short, but we've got longer ones coming up, with quite a bit of drama. SOOOOO psyched for Degrassi tomorrow. But, it's so scary to think about Cam, my baby! Anyway, have a wonderful vacation if your school or whatever has February vacation. Lots of updates this coming week, unless Degrassi breaks my spirit. Love you all. SORRY GUYS! I accidently posted chapter 4 twice. Now, REVIEW... (please?)**


	6. Into the fire

**WARNING: Self harm triggers, beware.**

**Chapter 6: Into the fire  
**"It's huge." "Hahaha, well now that my brother isn't in private school, there's some money lying around." "I wish I had money lying around." "Let's go in shall we?" He grabs the spare key and we head down the cobblestone walkway. "Where do you wanna talk?" I ask, taking in the beauty of his house. "Uh living room's fine." He murmers, leading the way. I sit next to him on the couch, angled towards him. We sit there in silence for a minute. Cam looks serious. "So uh, I'm not with Maya anymore and you're... Figuring things out. I was wondering... Do you maybe wanna go out sometime?" Another long pause "I uh.. thought this was a date." "I guess it kinda is." He says laughing "And yes Campbell Saunders, I would love to go out with you." "Alright. Date starts now. How about a movie?" "Alright. But not blood savage 4: revenge if the blood savage." "Hahah fine by me. The DVD cabinet is under the tv, take your pick." I walk over to the 55" LED tv and look through the cabinet. He's got about 200 DVD's. I choose, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. A classic. I pop it into the blueray player and change the input. "Good choice." He says approvingly. "I'll go get us some popcorn." "No no no no. You stay here worrior. I'll make the popcorn. What do you want to drink?" "Thank you. And uh... Diet coke." "Okay. Now, where is your kitchen?" "Hahah. Down the hall and to the left." He had a cute laugh. I put the popcorn in the microwave, find a bowl, and grab the drinks. I call Brian. "Hey." "What the hell did you think you were doing!?" "I LOVE you god dammit! He was trying to take you away from me!" "I told him not to kiss me, then you cut his hand open and left him there?" "I don't-" "I wanna break up." "Fine!" "Screw you!" "Up yours!" "Asshole!" "Bitch!" I hung up the phone. Why can't anything in my life work out the way it should! The popcorn beeps. I pour it into a bowl then grab the drinks. I head back to the living room. "So I talked to Brian..." "Come sit." He says, patting the cushion next to him. "You don't have to tell me what happened. You lived it once, reliving it isn't going to do you any favors, trust me. He said rolling up his sleeve to show me his scars. I put my hand on his arm, running my fingers over them. "Wow I-" "Yeah I'm some freak that tries to hurt himself." "We'll if you are.." I say rolling my sleeve up. "Then so am I." I show him. "Wow I-" "Just one of my many coping methods." "I'm under a lot of pressure... I'm on the Toronto Ice Hounds and everyone expects me to be this huge star but there's-People expect me to win. Sometimes I can't deal with it all." "Do you ever wish you could escape, just for a few hours?" "How about the next 60? We don't have to be back at camp till Monday. Let's just do nothing for the next 3 days." "I like where this is going." "Hahaha. Oh, and if we're together now, let's be together." He lies down and I rest my head on his chest, counting his heart beats. He pushes a button and a spot for our drinks and popcorn appears. He hits the play button and the movie begins."**  
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**Wow, well that was... wow. I do not self harm. My coping is more... phycological rather than physical. And just as a side note, I'm thinking the title to my auto biography will be "I'll see you all in therapy". The next chapter is very sweet and personal. Hope you're all ready! **


	7. Fearful when the sky was full of thunder

**Chapter 7: "fearful when the sky was full of thunder"  
**It's 10 o'clock and we've watched 6 movies: MBFGW, Home Alone, The Spongebob Movie, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and The Hunger Games. 3 drinks and two tubs of popcorn later I have to pee. "Cam?" I whisper, tapping his shoulder. "Yeah?" "Where's your bathroom?" "Upstairs and down the hall, second door on your right." "Thanks." "Sure." I walk up the long staircase and make my way to the bathroom. There are monogrammed towels and guest soap. After I'm done, I wander a bit. I wind up in what I assume is Cam's room. He has posters of famous hockey players plastered over his walls and a picture of who I assume is Maya. She's really pretty. I take one last look at his room from the threshold, then head back downstairs; I make my way to the living room, Cam's asleep. I bend down to whisper something in his ear. At the last second he turns and kisses me. I don't object. We break away and I catch my breath. "(deeply breathing) I, uh... Again?" I prompt, getting back on the couch and lying down. I run my fingers through his hair and we start up again. My pocket buzzes. "Hold that thought warrior."  
Bry: can we talk about this?  
Me: it's over, remember?  
I throw my phone down in frustration and we start up once more. He kisses with such passion and intensity. He takes his shirt off. "I thought this might happen. Hahaha." He said jokingly. I run my fingers over the crevasses. "Uh, do you want to-" "No. I mean- I'm not ready for that yet." " What? Oh you thought- ohhhhh no I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to stop, it's getting kinda late. And I just wanna make sure you feel comfortable." "What a gentleman." We continue like this for a few minutes. Then we head to his bedroom.

I take a quick shower. With my hair in wrapped up in a blue towel and a fluffy purple towel wrapped around me I head to Cam's room. "Hey can I borrow a shirt to sleep in?" "Sure." He says, getting up from his bed and digging through his drawers. He pulls out a hockey jersey. "Here," he says, handing me the shirt. "This way, I know you're mine." He says kissing my cheek. I'm already in a bra and panties so I change right there. Cam had already seen me like this, during the pool incident. "Ya know, you could just sleep in that..." He jokes. "well aren't you funny." I say sarcastically as I put on the jersey. It smells like old spice and Abercrombie rolled into one. The sky is dark. Stars begin to fill the once empty horizon: the house is quiet. I slip in bed next to Cam and slide down in the covers. He scooches closer, wrapping an arm around my waist. I feel safe, protected.

I lay awake. Thinking. "Cam?" I say, poking his side. "Yeah?" "Oh, you are up." "Yeah. I just feel that there's just no need to sleep... It's a waste of time. Does that sound stupid?" "I know what you mean... When we were little, there was more time to do nothing. There were more hours in the day, new things to discover- more time." There's a long pause. Cam turns toward me. "We're all in this huge rush to grow up, but now we as teens have a fear of what lies ahead. We try to stop the clock." "We can't return, we can only look- behind from where we came. And go round and round and round in the circle game." "Joni Mitchell." "I'm utterly shocked that you knew that." "My mom used to sing that song to calm me down. It used to be the only thing that would keep me from crying. On nights when the thunder and lighting was really bad I would go to her room and she would sing that song to calm me down." Another long pause. "Plus she's Canadian." "Hahhaha...Right now, I'm having one of those moments." "One of which?" "One that feels so utterly perfect, that it makes you want to live like this forever and you know you'll never feel this happy again." "So I'm depressing you?" "I guess so." I say flirtatiously. "Gigi?" "Yeah?" "Come with me to Canada. We'll fly out tomorrow and be back by Monday." I sit up abruptly. "I can't leave right now. Plus, how are you gonna get tickets for a flight tomorrow?" "I have a private plane." "What don't you have?" He thinks for a minute. "A sandwich." "You're adorable." "Not half as adorable as you." "Aww turn the light on so I can kiss you."

**To amberangel88, you can call me Gigi if you'd like and I wasn't trying to steal your title, all of my titles are quotes or song titles. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter as much as I do. As some of you may have guessed, my story title's name is based off of this chapter. I love Joni Mitchell and "The Circle Game" is one of my favorite songs, it just seemed appropriate. Who else is scared about this weeks episode of degrassi? Gah! Why can't this be in the summer season block when we get new episodes daily!? Please review! Love you all, SqueegeeG**


	8. Everything Turns to Dust

**So, not everything in my stories are cannon. It's whatever. I need at least a bit of an edge. **

**"Liberty, you're about as edgy as a butter knife."~ Sean Cameron **

**Chapter 8: Everything Turns to Dust  
**I pack what little I have and we head to the airport. Cam calls his friend Tori who can get me some clothes. Can gives me her number and I text her my sizes. We take our seats in the plane. "I never thought my life could change this much in less than 24 hours... But I like it." "I know. I mean I thought my life was going pretty well. I had a girlfriend, I was vacationing in the states, I finally settled into everything. But, then in the aftermath, I didn't know what to think. Then I met you and my life started to get better. I'm really happy Gee." I bury my face in his shoulder. I'm still in the jersey, but I pulled my hair back and threw on a pair of black skinny jeans and a pair of converse. Comfortable and stylish. The plane takes off. I grab Cam's hand for security. "You okay?" "Yeah. Just nervous." I say between deep breaths. "Don't worry. You're completely safe. Squeeze my hand if you get scared." "Okay." I say, clenching his hand a bit tighter, and rubbing my thumb against the back of his palm.

We land in Toronto, just 10 minutes from Cam's billet family house and school. We take a rental car to Tori's house. She shows me the clothes: they're perfect. I thank Tori over and over, then we head to Cam's old house. He rings the bell and a woman in her 30's appears. Her chestnut brown hair is cut shoulder length and her eyes are a vibrant hazel. "CAM!" She screams running to him, throwing her arms around him and giving him a hug. "MIKE! GET DOWN HERE! IT'S CAM!" She yells at the stairs. Suddenly, who I assume is Mike, comes to the door. He's a slightly overweight 30 something with short black hair. He hugs Cam as well. "Well, this is a surprise. What are you doing in Toronto?" "Well we were at camp," he says, draping an arm over my shoulder, "... And some crazy shit happened." He says, showing them the stitches. "Anyway, we've been granted the week off so I thought, why not head up to Toronto to catch up?" "We are so glad you're here. Now who is this beautiful girl?" She asks, gesturing my way. "This is my girlfriend Gioia, Gigi for short." "It's very nice to meet you." Mike says, extending a hand. The women does the same. "Likewise." I said reaching out to shake their hands. "Oh, where are my manners. Gigi, I'm Sheila Vanzant and this is Mike Vanzant. We're Cam's billet family. We take care of him when he's up here. He's a hockey prodigy you know." "Hahaha well yes I've heard wonderful things." "Oh please, won't you come in?" Sheila says opening the door wider. Cam and I enter. Sheila leads us to the kitchen and asks what we want to drink. I take a water and Cam takes Sprite. Sheila goes on and on about how Cam's hockey career began and how well he's adjusted. We excuse ourselves to put our things away and settle in. We're sleeping upstairs in the guest bedroom tonight.

"I'm in Canada... I feel worldly." I say, flopping on the bed. "Hahaha as you should." He says, lying down next to me. "I feel there needs to be some sort of initiation." "Ahh but there is. Do you like hockey?" "More than most sports." "Have you ever seen a moose?" "Actually no." "Well we're not staying too long so I guess they'll be okay with it." Cam looks at his watch. "Gee, put something semi-casual on. With a lot of layers." "Why?" "Hockey game. And I'm playing." "How the hell did-" "I pulled a few strings and talked to my coach. He said it would be good practice before school starts up again in a few months." "You mean I get to see the prodigy in action?" I say, sitting up. He nods and smiles. "Okay... I'll need 10 minutes and I'll be set. Ready? Break!" Cam laughs. "Now is that hockey jargon or is it football?" "Football I believe, but the huddle is classic in any sport. Hockey however, isn't as communicative as football is." "Interesting" "You're learning." "And knowledge is power... Alright, you can stay here if you want, but I gotta start changing now if I wanna be ready in time." "I have to change too. I'll go to the bathroom down the hall. Bye." He says, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. Cam exits the room and I look through my bags and bags of clothes. I find a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tank top, a red Toronto Ice Hounds shirt, red converse, and a gray sweatshirt. The perfect outfit. I change and take my hair down. I put some hairspray in my hair and shake it out. Once satisfied with the outfit I find Cam. "You look beautiful." "You're not half bad yourself." I say looking over his outfit, black skinny jeans and a gray v-neck sweater. I take his hand into mine. "Thank you babe... Okay the rink is a five minute drive and we've got some time to spare, what do you wanna do?" I ponder for a minute "I wanna know where famous hockey prodigy, Campbell Saunders spent his year." "Well you are in luck, the tour is starting up again in a few minutes." He says jokingly, leading the way downstairs. I grab his hand and our fingers entwine. "Sheila and Mike! Gee and I are gonna walk around. Meet you guys at the rink for the game! Bye." "Bye Cam!" They say in unison.

We walk around his neighborhood and Can tells me all about school and how different it was at degrassi compared to his home back in Kapuskasing. I take out my phone: 8:15 PM. We decide to head down to the rink a little early.

"Gee? I have to go get changed, but I made sure Tori would be here so you would have a friendly face around." "Thank you Cam." I say, leaning in to kiss him. "Bow chicka wow wow!" A voice from behind us says. I turn and come face to face with an upper classman in an Ice Hounds jersey. "Can it Dallas." "No no no. This ones got boobs, nice job rookie." I cross my arms over my chest and look down. "Don't worry about him, he's just a dick that needs to get laid." Cam whispers to me, kissing my forehead. "Okay. See you after the game, good luck Cam!" Cam follows Dallas into the locker room.  
I make my way to the stands and try to find Tori. She's sitting with another girl, blonde and adorable. On her other side is a kind of chunky boy with red hair. "Hi Tori! Can I sit with you?" "Of course. Gigi these are my friends, Tristan and Maya." "Nice to meet you." Said Maya, who extended her arm out for me to shake. Tristen did the same. "So, do you guys like hockey?" I start, though it sounds stupid. "I hate it," Tristen says, "but I have to 'support my brother' because that's what 'siblings do'." He says, adding finger quotes finishing with an eye roll. "Amen to that Tris. Maya and I are here scouting for boys. But we will not succumb to puck bunny status!" "What's a puck bunny?" "It's a girl who flirts with the hockey players and sleeps with them." Says Maya, looking from me to Tris to Tori, smiling. "Gross... Hey Maya?" "Yeah?" "Are you by any chance Maya Matlin?" "Yes, why?" She asks, a little nervous. "The same Maya Matlin that went out with Campbell Saunders?" "Yes... Why?" She says, a little more annoyed this time. "I uh... Am the current girlfriend." There's a long pause. "I can sit somewhere else if this is too weird for you Maya." "No, don't be silly. Cam and I weren't meant to be. Best of luck to you and Cam." "Wow that was really sweet My." Said Tristan, patting her shoulder. "Thank you Maya. I just didn't want it to be awkward at all. And I don't think Cam and I are going to last either... He'll be back here with you guys, with hockey and Degrassi and I'll just be the girl he met at camp over the summer. Honestly I'm not looking for anything serious." "Wait, you're from the states?" "Yeah, like I said, Cam and I met at camp." "Well I'll be damned, a girl from the US bagged a Canadian." Tori says, leaning back in the bleachers.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you... The TORONTO ICE HOOOOUUUUUNNNDDDSSS!" A man says as the players take their spots on the ice. Fans erupt in cheering. I spot Cam, number 67; they skate one lap around the rink, and the game begins.

It's been about a half hour when I finally discover I hate hockey. Maya, Tristan, Tori and I gossip while they play. When the conversation lags I play a 'Where's Waldo' game to find Cam. The score is 3-1, with TIH in the lead. I hear a loud thud, then the buzzer sounds. Cam's on the ice, face down... And he's not getting up.

The four of us run down the bleachers and onto the ice to see Cam. The Vanzant's are there too. Cam is put on a gurney and taken to the ambulance. There's only room for one person to ride along with Cam, Mrs. Vanzant volunteers. The rest of us ride to the hospital in Mr. Vanzant's car, closely trailing the ambulance. "Wh-what do you think is wrong?" I ask no one in particular. "Concussion," says Mr. Vanzant, "but I'm not positive on that one." "I'm guessing a few stitches. He had a nasty gash on his forehead after the fall." Tristan says, Tori nods in agreement. "What do you think Maya?" "Uh I'm guessing a concussion too." She says almost inaudibly, discreetly wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. I nod. We near the hospital, everyone is quiet. Once at the hospital Mr. Vanzant bolts out of the car and we all run to the emergency wing.  
"Where's Campbell Saunders?" Asks Mike, out of breath. "Are you family?" "Yes I am." "Well he's had a concision and a few stitches. He needs his rest but when he's had some time to recuperate, I'll let you visit him. Please have a seat."

**Did ya like it? Did ya? Did ya? Did ya? The next chapter is pretty good if I do say so myself. 2 days till degrassi (sobbing) PM me some Cam theories, I love hearing them. Please review! Update soon. Oh and if you know where the title from this chapter came from, PM me and I'll give you a shout out. **

**Love and Rockets, **

**SqueegeeG**


	9. Tried to Walk Before I Crawled

**Chapter 9: Tried to Walk Before I Crawled**

Mike and Sheila are filling out paperwork. Tris and Tori are looking for food. Maya and I sit together in silence. "Maya?" "Yeah?" "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to but... Why did you break up with Cam?" She lets out a big sigh before beginning. "Well, I was at a beauty pageant, I know, I don't look like the type. I just wanted to know what it was like to feel as if you were the most beautiful girl... Anyway, I had just performed my song for talent and I was standing backstage with Tori's ex-boyfriend Zig. One thing led to another and we kissed. I told Cam and we decided to see other people and figure out if we would want to say together." "Oh. My now ex-boyfriend Brian saw me kissing Cam. I ran away to hide out and they got into a huge fight that resulted in the reopening of a cut on Cam's hand, leading to four stitches..." She smirked. "That sounds like an episode of 20/20." "I know right? Why can't anything in my life be normal?!" "Preaching to the choir. For a week Cam was our billet brother. I managed to give him a black eye while attempting to hurt my sister, and pour a cup tea... On his pants. And yet after all of that, dating me wasn't out of the question." "Wow, you beat me hahahaha." Tris and Tori arrive with armfuls of junk food from the vending machine. They lay out the spread: 5 bags of Lays chips (varying in flavor), 3 bottles of water, 1 can of sprite, 2 cans of Pepsi, 6 packets of skittles, 2 bags of starburst, and 1 Twinkie. We dig in when the doctor comes out. "You may visit Cam now If you'd like." We get up and follow the doctor to Cam's room. He has a bandage on his head, he looks tired. Tris and Tori say quick messages of a speedy recovery and are out in two minutes. Maya and I sit at his bedside. "So warrior, are you always this accident prone?" "Well, my accidents seem to have been less frequent since My and I don't hang as much." He looks her way and takes her hand. His eyes are filled with pain. "Maya, can you give us a minute? I'll be right out I promise." "Of course, I'll meet you by the mountain of snacks when you're done." "Thank you." "No problem." Cam looks at me, a bit puzzled. "What's going on?" I sigh. "I see the way you look at Maya. You still love her. Much as I hate to say this, we need to break up. You're going to lose her if you wait any longer. I mean I really really like you but, your eyes light up when she walks in the room. You two belong together. I don't wanna stand in the way. She made a mistake. But it was in the heat of the moment, take her back... You call her name in your sleep. I'll always be around, but she's your soulmate... I'm just the rebound. You love her and always will." "Gee it's not like that..." "Yes it is. I mean, I had a lot of fun being with you, but I know we're not meant to be." I say, getting up. I wipe the hair from his face, kissing his forehead lightly. "I'll see you around worrior."

I return to the "mountain of snacks" and tell Maya everything. She hugs and thanks me. She leaves for Cam's room. "That, was really sweet of you." Said Tris as he scooted closer to me. "You like Cam but you know he and Maya are perfect together... You're a very good person." "Agreed. I wouldn't have been able to do what you just did. You're ballsy, I'll give you that." "So what will you do now?" Asked Tris, sticking his hand back in a bag of chips. "I'll fly home at the end of the week with Cam, finish my summer at camp, and we'll go our separate ways. But I'll definitely visit you guys again. Hell, I might even convince my Dad to let me transfer to Degrassi in the fall. You're schools are great and I've got 3 new friends who would be in my grade. And take my word on this: Cam and Maya may not always be together, but they'll always be in love with each other." "Amen to that." Cam says, his arm around Maya. He must have heard me saying all this. The doctor had cleared him to leave, but he won't be playing hockey for a few weeks. "Oh, and you left your phone in my room, someone wants to talk to you." Cam says, reaching into his jacket pocket and handing me the phone. I thank Cam and part from the group. "Hello?" "Hey..." "I-" "Don't say anything, I need to talk to you... I haven't been able to sleep since you left. I think about you constantly and it's driving me insane. I love you Gioia Carlo. I never stopped loving you. Oh and turn around." I slowly turn, a bit scared, and come face to face with Bry. I hug him. "I missed you B. I love you too and I'm so sorry. But, how did you know where I was?" "That would be my fault." Cam says walking toward us. "And I promise never to do anything like I did to Cam ever again. You were right, I didn't have the whole story and it was wrong of me to think you were cheating and-" I interrupt him with a kiss. I hear applause and cat calls. I turn to see Maya, Cam, Tris, and Tori on their feet cheering. The group erupts with emotion. We walk back over, hand in hand. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Brian Birel, my boyfriend." "Hi Brian!" They say in unison. "Sounds like an AA meeting." We all laugh. Mr and Mrs Vanzant appear. "Alright, I've got all of the paperwork done and Cam back. I think it's about time to head home. Who's with me?" "I agree. I need to sleep for about 15 hours." Cam exclaims, we nod in agreement.  
**************  
**At the Vanzant's, Cam and I pack our bags and head down to the airport. Bry and M are coming with us. We say our goodbyes to Tris, Tori, Sheila and Mike, then head to the runway. On the plane, within minutes, Maya has fallen asleep; snuggled next to Cam. They really were meant to be. I settle into my seat and grab B's hand. We take off.

**I thought we could all use some happy Camaya right now. I love you all and please stay strong, Cam was very sick and it was no one's fault. Brilliant writing and acting though. I applaud Demetrius Joyette for his exceptional performance. If he doesn't get an award for that episode, there is no god.**


	10. It Was Always You

**Chapter 10: It was Always You  
**Back at the Saunders' residence, Cam hauls his belongings, as well as Maya's to his room while Brian and I travel down the hall to the guest room. It was so sweet of Cam to let us stay for the rest of the week. I flop on our bed. "Tired... Can't. Fight. Jet lag." "Must fight jet lag, especially considering there shouldn't be any. They're on our time zo- screw it nap time wins." I slip into sweatpants and change into a t-shirt. Nap time never sounded better.

5am. Bry and I slept for 10 hours! We both lay awake in bed, counting dots on the ceiling. "I'm gonna pee, then see if Cam and Maya are up. Brb." I say, getting up and giving Bry a quick kiss. On my way back I spot Maya and Cam, also wide awake, talking. I knock on the half open door and let myself in. "Hey guys, we're up too. Do you maybe wanna do something?" "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Cam says turning towards Maya. "Snow cones?" Maya asks, looking to Cam for approval. "I think yes." " Hahahaha. Alright I'll meet you two downstairs, I just need to go get B." I walk down the hall and into our room. "Snow cones." "Okay." He says, not questioning anything, just going along. Ahh to be young and in love.

Cam pops ice into the machine and cranks the handle. 45 seconds later: snow cone. Maya struts over to the fridge and takes out bottles of fruit juice and begins mixing. Cam puts the shaved ice into a small glass and hands them to Maya. She douses the ice in a pinkish liquid, then hands one to me. I examine it. "What is it?" "Lemon raspberry with a hint of mango. Try it, you'll love it!" I reluctantly grab a spoon and take a bite. "Hoooollly mother of god... I wanna take a bath in that sauce!" "I will make more." Maya says beaming, retiring to her mixology. "Sooo it's that good? I want some." Bry says walking closer to me and wrapping his hands slightly above my waist. "Shoe! I'm not sharing. But.." I say, batting his hand away playfully then leaning in for a kiss. "That is good." "The kiss or the flavor?" I ask flirtatiously. "Both." He says matter-of-factly, placing the snow cone on the counter and pulling me in closer for another kiss. Once everyone is equipped with a snow cone, we head to the living room for a movie marathon: Daria, Freaks and Geeks, Juno, The Breakfast Club, and 16 Candles. While the boys fuss around with settings on the TV, Maya and I head to the kitchen to rid ourselves of the snow cone remnants and grab popcorn, drinks, and candy.

We all fell asleep around noon and woke up at 9PM. I'm the first up. I head to the kitchen with Cam to get "breakfast." Cam walks to the cabinet to grab bowls. "I'm really glad everything worked out. I mean, we were happy together but we're not in love. I have Maya, who I very well may marry one day and you have Brian who you're obviously in love with. Congrats on getting back together." "I couldn't agree more... And thank you." We walk back to the living room. Bry is still asleep and Maya is trying to wake him up by sticking a straw up his nose. I, being the wonderful girlfriend that I am, just let it happen. Maya misses his nose and the straw lands in his ear. He starts to get up as Maya grabs the straw and throws it to her left. Cam laughs and hands Maya her bowl of cereal: lucky charms with almond milk; she sits down, laughing to herself. I grab my cinnamon toast crunch with 1% and sit next to Maya. I don't think Bry is fully aware of where he is yet. He gets off of the couch and makes himself a bowl of cereal: berry berry kix with 2%. He does the famous, "it's too early for this shit" walk back to his seat. Cam laughs and picks up his cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios with soy milk, he's lactose intolerant. We munch in silence until everyone's done eating. "Alright everyone, tomorrow Gee and I go back to REC. My and Brian, you two will be auditioning for band camp just down the street and are allowed to crash in our rooms at night. Get excited!" Cam finishes by clapping his hands together for emphasis. "Oh, Maya, I didn't know you played. What's your instrument?" Brian asks, delighted by the topic. "Well I play Piano, guitar and bass, both electric and acoustic, violin, viola, and last but certainly not least, my baby, the cello. I can pick up any string instrument. I've been experimenting with the trumpet though... Very different." "Wow! I play a bit of piano and my 'baby' is the trombone. And you're right, the trumpet is very different. I tried playing it in 3rd grade but failed hahaha." "Cool. I know Cam can't play but what about you Gigi? Do you play?" "I sing and am starting piano lab this September. Its a class that will teach me how to play. I wanna be a music teacher so I kinda have to learn soon right?" "Oh she's underselling herself, she auditioned for senior districts." Brian gloats, putting a supportive arm over my shoulder. "Wow that's awesome!" Maya states. "I didn't make it though..." I say a bit disappointed at the memory, looking at the ground. "It's an honor just going." Maya says, trying to comfort me. "She's right you know, and they only didn't let you in because your talent would throw off the group... you have too much talent." "Aww I knew there was a reason I liked you." I said scooting closer and leaning in to kiss him. "I love you Brian." "Forever and always." He says, kissing me once more. "Aww you guys are too cute!" "Thank you?" Brain says blushing. "Alright we're all adorable, now let's pack for tomorrow!" Cam says, getting up to put his bowl away. "Woo hoo!" "Shhhhweeet!"

We spent the next hour getting packed and ready, then we went out to eat; at Victoria's. Cam hops in his Camry and we drive down to Westwood center. Bry and I give him directions along the way. We park and enter Victoria's, confronted by Gabe before being seated. "What up Gabey Wabey? Bang any hot girls recently?" "Shut up woman! You on a date night with Brian?" "Nope. We broke up and I've decided to take up lesbianism. This is Maya, my girlfriend." "So that would be Brian's boyfriend." "Yup, that's Cam. He's bi and we thought, why not take up polygamy just for kicks. My and I are open to anything." "Is it exhausting being you?" "Yes, very." I say retiring to our usual spot. We sit in a booth across from our 'significant other' and order drinks. I'm not that hungry so I split a pizza with Maya; however, the boys are opposed to sharing. Cam gets buffalo wings and Brian gets a burger. After dinner we walk down to Vellos for ice cream then ride back to Cam's place. It's 11am so we lounge around the house for the rest of the day. I throw on my ice hounds shirt and yoga pants, then flop into bed on my stomach. "Well someone's tired." "Someone needs a nap. Get yo ass in bed." I say, though my words are muffled by the pillow I'm laying on. "Okay. But only because I love you." "I love you too b." "g'night." And with that we fell into a deep sleep.

"WAKE UP!" Cam screams as he enters our room. We bolt out of bed, today we go back to REC. we all scarf down our breakfast and head to the car, jamming our shit in the trunk. In 15 minutes we're just outside of camp grounds. My and Cam kiss briefly, then part ways. I walk to B. "I love you Gioia." "Forever and always." I say, taking my hands into his. Then our group splits, a few tears in Maya's eyes. I take a deep breath and look at Cam. "Hi," I say extending my hand. "I'm Gioia Carlo. My friends- and miss Heb, call me Gigi. You must be Campbell." "Yes I am. Campbell Saunders, my friends call me Cam. Looks like we're co-counselors." "I'll walk you to our Cabin." We journey through the grounds just as we had 15 days ago. It's as if time stopped while we were gone.  
************

**Not my favorite chapter but a good one none the less. I loved Degrassi on Friday. "Hold my waist." Jake and Mo need their own spin-off. Please review! ~SqueegeeG**


	11. What Dreams are Made Of

**Chapter 11: "What dreams are made of"  
**Every night, just as they'd promised, Maya and Bry came down to our Cabins to sleep. After a week I compiled a "Brian in a bag" kit, for his clothes, toothbrush, deodorant etc. It was good having him here at night. I finally felt safe and protected. I hear a knock at my door, it's B. "Hey stranger," I say, opening the door and kissing him. "Fancy meeting you here." I open the door wider so he can come in. "We'll I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by." He says, entering the room fully now. He flops onto my bed. "What's on the agenda for tonight babe?" "Well, I was thinking a movie and a midnight dinner in the mess hall. I do have a key." "Sounds perfect. Just let me get changed." He says, grabbing the bag and walking to my bathroom. I text Cam:

**Me: Hey worrier. B and I are hitting up the mess hall later if you and My wanna hang you're welcome to join us if you'd like.  
Worrier: Sure. We'll be over in 10. (From Maya) Cam's sleeping, don't worry I already drew shit on his face with a magic marker.  
Me: hahahaha love you My. See you soon.**

Bry hops out of the bathroom, wearing gray sweatpants and a black v-neck tee. "Bry, I invited Maya and Cam over if that's okay. Nothing like a double date with an ex boyfriend hahahaha, if I can even call him that." "Sounds like fun. What movie are we watching anyway?" "Uhhh..." I say, walking to the shelf where I kept my DVD's. "Well, we've got a few choices." I say, rifling through my collection. "we've got Aladdin, She's the Man, The Lizzie McGuire movie, and something from my sisters trip to Ireland. It's got puppets!" "Hahahaha. I'm thinking She's the Man, but whatever you want is fine by me." Bry says, walking over to me and crouching down beside me, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear and kissing my forehead. I hear a knock on the door and walk over to answer it. "Hey guys. Sorry if we're interrupting. We come bearing a gift." Maya says, entering with Cam close behind, showing a plate of rice crispy treats. "You're the best Maya." I say hugging her. "She's perfect." Cam says, turning to face her, grabbing her hand and kissing it gently. "Oh you crazy kids." I say, going to my dresser to put the rice crispy treats down. Because my room is big I figured I'd find a cheap couch to keep here. Maya is sprawled out on it, laying her head on Cam's chest. I lie on my bed next to Bry. My head on his shoulder. Once we're all settled, I click play on the remote and the movie begins.

"I don't get it. Celebrities use equipment to alter their voices all the time. Why is it such a big deal that this guy is doing it?" Brian asks, gesturing to the the screen and popping another rice crispy treat into his mouth. "The early 2000's were very different times. We were more trusting in a musicians ability to actually perform rather than the image they're trying to uphold." "That was beautiful." Maya said, sitting up and grabbing the last treat from the tray. "I try." I say, sipping my water, then placing it back on my nightstand. We'd finished She's the Man, and moved to "The Lizzy McGuire Movie". The topic of musicianship and the ethics behind what Gordo did to save Lizzy were talked about at great lengths. Only in this group can you hold an intelligent conversation about absolutely nothing.

"I'm beat, how about a nap before our adventure across the quad?" Bry says, sitting up and stretching his arms forward, then above his head. "You and I both know that's code for snuggle time." "Why can't it be both?" "Pssshhh hahahaha. You're ridiculous." "Yeah but you're stuck with me." He says, turning on his side and kissing my cheek. "Well I wouldn't say stuck." I argue, pulling the covers over myself and facing him. Cam and Maya fell asleep so we continue our conversation at a dull whisper. "I love you." "I love you too." Maya let out a huge yawn and sat up, looking our way and waving sleepily. "You guys are cute." She uttered almost inaudibly, laying back down. We laughed at her quirky comment. I repositioned my head against his chest and closed my eyes, accidently falling asleep in the process.

I awoke in a daze, not quite remembering where I was. "Babe," he whispered, nudging me gently "we're gonna head down to the mess hall for dinner if you'd like to join." "(yawning) Sure, just let me grab my coat." I swung my legs to the other side of the bed and stood up, a little too quickly. I stumbled a bit, but steadied myself shortly after. I walked over my pile of dirty laundry to my closet, grabbing my bright pink hoodie and slipping on my black Old Navy flip flops. Brian walked over to me and took my hand in his. "How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?" "Well, I guess it was just a matter of time before we found each other." I said, kissing his cheek and navigating around my messy room until we came face to face with Maya and Cam, who had been awaiting our arrival, just outside the cabin door. "Alright, I grabbed the spare key from my room and I think we're ready." Cam said, addressing the group. "How did you get a key after working here for less than a summer, whereas I, going here my entire life, am not trusted with one?" "Because you become weak in the knees at the thought of free bacon?" Brian suggested, kissing my lips gently. "The fact that you're right about that is a little sad on my part." I said, looking at the ground and chuckling softly. "Hey," he said, cupping my chin in his hand, making it so I had to look at him, "you never have to hide your bacon addiction from us. You're among friends." "Oh hardy har har." I said sarcastically, grabbing Brian's hand, turning off the lights and locking my room before we journey to the mess hall.

"So. Much. Food. So. Much. POWER!" Cam says, his face pressed against the glass. "And all this can be yours, if you open the goddamn door." "Well someone's testy!" Cam says, I narrow my eyes at him. "Someone has low blood sugar and needs food now. So make with opening the door so I can get my hands on the damn cocoa puffs!" "Calm yo ass down. I got this." Cam says reaching into his pocket. "Uhh..." He says tapping his pockets with a look of worry on his face. "YOU LOST THE KEY!?" "Hahaha no. I just wanted to see that look on your face." "Permission to slap him?" I turn to Brian. "Nawww, let him go. Though he's older he is far less mature and gets pleasure out of taunting you. But then again I think thats kinda fun too." "Will someone please just open the goddamn door!" Maya says, flinging her hands up for emphasis, just wanting this conversation to end. "Alright, but only because you said please." Cam says kissing her. "You could learn a thing or two from her." Cam says to me, gesturing toward Maya. "I'll kill you if I can't get in there in the next 60 seconds. "Alright, Mrs. Sassy Pants." Cam says finally opening the door.  
"It's-it's... beautiful." Brian utters quietly. "Shhhh." I whisper, bringing a finger to his lips. We slowly step further into the room and listen for the hum of the refrigerator, instilling a calm nature. I spot the cereal and walk over. The machines are fully stocked. A tear slowly rolls down my cheek. I grab a bowl and slowly release the lever to fill my bowl with cookie crisp. The harmonious notes of each piece hitting the empty bowl echos in the quiet room. "I am Augustus Gloop, and this is my river of chocolate." I say, carrying the bowl back to our table. "I'm glad to see that you're happy." Brian says, leaning back in his chair. "Oh there are no words for my feelings toward this right now. Sorry Bry, but I may end up marrying this bowl of cereal and spending my old age in this very room. You're second best to cookie crisp, and I'm sorry, but that's the way it will always be." "Its okay. I understand." He says, stroking my back with his palm.

"I'm so full I can't even move." Cam says, exhaling loudly and rubbing his stomach. "Hahahaha, you're weak." Maya says, popping another piece of popcorn into her mouth. "How can you still be eating right now!?" His eyes widening. "You ate more than me!" "Weak your stomach is. Strong you must be." "Thanks yoda." "Problem you have?" "Oh shut up." He said, leaning in to kiss her. "Love you I do." "I love you too M." They kiss once more. "Alright, we've gotta get out of here soon, we're gonna get caught!" I say, a little scared of the impending consequences. "Okay okay, whatever you'd like mistress." Brian says, gesturing for the others to get up. "For you malady." Cam says, pulling Maya's chair out for her. "Gentleman you are." "Are you ever gonna drop this?" "Never will I." "Gotta admit this is kinda hot..." "You would think that." She said smirking. "HA! You broke character!" "Okay, okay you got me." "We have to get out of here... like now!" I warn, trying to get those two to the door. "Well well well." We all turn to see who's at the door. "Hey there Abby... What's up?" I say trying not to scream. "I could rat you all out... but I won't." "Bless you Abby! I owe you." I say, quickly escorting the rest of them out as fast as humanly possible. "Remember that I love you!" I say before exiting. "Y'all better hope there's at least one pop tart left." She murmurs as we finally exit, running back to the cabins.

"That. Was. Close." I whisper, flopping on the bed, out of breath. "It was such a thrill! The excitement... THE RUSH!" "Woah Maya, too much sugar can be a bad thing hahahaha. I'm gonna get her to bed. See y'all later, bye." "Bye." Brian and I say in unison. Brian sits next to me on my bed. "I missed you, so much when we were apart..." He whispered, putting his hand in mine. "I never want anything that to happen again, okay?" "You already apologized Bry, remember, we were at the hospital?" "I know I know but, I just want you to feel special ya know?" "You always make me feel special. And that's why I love you. You looked beyond all the horrible drama and chaos that occurs in my life and accepted me for who I am: a socially awkward girl with a passion for music. You bring out the best in me and encourage me to better myself everyday. It's me and you till the end." "Can I ask you something that might freak you out?" "Sure, why not? Ask away." "When I think about my future, after high school and college, I see us-together. I see our little family growing up in a cute little suburban town. You going to a high school to teach music classes, me teaching Bio and Jazz Band after school. In a big house with a white picket fence... Please tell me I'm not freaking you out." "... You're not. I can see it too. Someday we'll get married in a little chapel in Maine with a big outdoor ceremony with lots and lots of flowers... I can see it too." "It's perfect." "You're perfect." I say, turning on my side to face him, his big blue eyes shimmering when I got his attention. We spend the rest of the night talking, finally falling asleep in each others arms.  
************

**Possibly my favorite chapter. Hope you all liked it. Review please!**


	12. Friendship, Just the Perfect Blendship

**Chapter 12: It's Friendship, Friendship, Just a Perfect Blendship**

"RISE AND SHINE REC CAMP!" The intercom boomed. Great, now I get to deal with these kids and Brian has to... wait, where is Brian? I look around the room. Then my phone buzzes. I have a message from Brian.

**Bry: Good Morning Beautiful. I had to get back to band camp with Maya, but I wanted to make sure I had the chance to say good morning. Have a wonderful day. See you tonight. Love you, B**. I lock my phone and stare longingly at nothing in particular. I hear a knock at my door, and am taken from my thoughts.

I swing my legs to the other side of my bed and comb my fingers through my hair quickly, then answer the door. "Hey Cam." "What up double G?" "Nothing much-Wait... In your hand, is that by any chance, coffee?" "Why yes it is." "Can I have it?" "Not this one but." He says, moving the hand from behind his back to reveal a second cup of coffee. "Bless you." I say, reaching out to grab the cup. "The things I do for you." He says as I slip on my shoes and follow him outside. Abby's taking the kids off of our hands. We're doing LDP evals today. It's kinda fun to tell them that they suck. They, who are only here because Nobles rejected them. We have far lower standards.

After we get done with 35 kids. I'm wiped out. "I. Hate. This." Cam says, leaning back in his chair and tilting his head back, rubbing his temples in frustration. We sit in the unairconditioned supervisors cabin. We have about 5 fans going. The humming of the spinning blades is oddly calming. "Oh come on, we have," I say, scanning the rest of the list, "... 1 more." I say, slamming my head against the table until I hear a faint voice. "Excuse me. Miss. Heb sent me in here. My name is Jamie." "Oh hey Jamie, come on in. Sit on down." I say, rolling my spinny chair to the filing cabinet to grab his file. "Well, you seem to be doing very well." I state, glancing over his near perfect evaluations. "Thank you." He said, looking up through the hair shielding his eyes. I slide the file over to Cam. "Excellent conduct, great planning skills... You very well may be destined for the counselor position a year early. You'll be a legend Jamie!" "Hahaha. Thanks Cam, means a lot coming from you." He says, though barely audible. High fiving Cam in the process. "Alright. Keep up the good work Jamie, maybe you'll be working with us next summer." He said, standing up, shaking Jamie's hand, and walking him to the door.

"Ahhh, I love hard working kids. They make this job a lot of fun." He says, grabbing a water from the cooler and walking back. "Hey can you get me one of those please?" "Sure, no problem." He said, opening up the cooler and throwing me a bottle. "Nice catch." "Nice through." "Touche." After unscrewing the cap from his water and chugging half the bottle, Cam looks up. "One more week, then it's back to Canada. I'm gonna miss it here." "Hey, you're welcome to crash at my place anytime." "Thanks." "Hey, you saved my relationship bro. I have to repay the favor." "Well, you saved my life- twice." "Lets just call it even." "Hahaha. Fine by me. Oh, I booked a reservation at Victoria's tonight for dinner. Double date night and freak out Gabe night, seemed they should coincide again." "And this," I say, moving my hand back and forth through the empty space between us, "is why we are friends." "Ugh. I'm gonna miss you so much." He said, walking over and giving me a hug. "I'll miss you too. But, we'll write constantly. Facebook, Skype, text, email... it's a whole new world out there Saunders. But I do want you to write me letters." I say, breaking from the hug. "Oh, and why is that?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, I wanna have my mailbox overflowing with letters. Constantly. Oh, and I will definitely come visit you, well, if that's okay by you." "If it's fine by Mike and Sheila, it's fine by me." He says, going in for one more hug.

After camp, Brian, Maya, Campbell and I walk down to get Cam's car. We got a little dressed up for the night out. Maya in a royal blue knee length sundress with a white mid-sleeve sweater and gray ballet flats skipped her way to the car, giddy with excitement. Cam, following closely behind her, was in a charcoal polo, khaki shorts and jordans. Brian and I were walking behind them, laughing at Maya, who had just made it to the car, when she fell on Cam, while doing her victory dance. I was wearing a purple floral tube dress with black flip-flops. Brian took his hand in mine and guided me over to the car. I'd been overcome by laughter after Maya had fallen. Brian was wearing a black short-sleeve polo, gray shorts, and converse sneakers.

After we finally got into the car, Cam blasted the radio, and I stuck my head out the window, feeling a cool breeze against my face and running my fingers through my long brown hair. Tonight was gonna be one for the record books, I could feel it.

**Hope that was somewhat enjoyable. The next chapter is very intense. Get excited fellow Degrassians! Last nights episode was okay, but not too great. I'm excited to see how Maya deals with the loss of Cam next week, and we get to meet "Afro Tastic", as I've so lovingly named him. And, if you don't mind, I could use a few reviews. I'd like to know what you guys want to see and get some feedback (be it positive or negative). Have a wonderful day wherever you happen to be. Sorry this was kinda short.**

**Love and Rockets,**

**SqueegeeG**


	13. The Tears Dry, Without You

**Chapter 13: The Tears Dry, Without You.**

"Hey Gabe..." I said flirtatiously, just to annoy him. "What could you possibly want?" "Hmmmm. Lets ponder this one. We're in a restaurant. It's," I say looking down at my watch, "5:30, and we're hungry. Now, what could that all mean?" "I hate you." "Ahhh, but the thing is, you like me. You always have. And, now that I am unattainable, you want me more." "Can you leave?" "You want to drive away paying customers? Alright, but it's your paycheck." I say, turning and heading for the door. "Ugh. Fine, I'm sorry. That was rude of me to say." I turn around and face him. We're close enough to touch foreheads. "Okay. I guess that's fine. Uh, go sit guys. I need a minute to talk to Mr. De Souza." "Okay, but don't hurt him. He's really weak." Brian jokes, turning and follow the others to a table. "So. Why have you been acting so strange and texting me late at night?" I whisper to Gabe. "I still like you okay? And if you want..." He says, rubbing a hand over my arm. "Stop." I say, swatting his arm. He grips harder, rubbing my thigh with his other hand. "Don't ever touch me." I use all of my strength to get away but I can't. "You are the most vile, petty, self-centered asshole I've ever met. What makes you think I want to be around that?" "Brian doesn't have to know... It could be our little secret." He says, narrowing his eyes, looking me up and down, moving the stray hair from my forehead, tucking it behind my ear.

He releases his grip. I slap him across the face, hard. "Don't you **ever** come near me again." I shout, bolting out the door, tears streaming down my face. I can hear Brian shouting through the door. I peer through the window, blinking through my tears. "What did you do to her?!" He questioned angrily. "She came on to me. Guess she just wanted a little something on the side... Can you blame her." Gabe says, looking to Cam.

Before Gabe can return his glance, Brian punches his jaw. Gabe's immediately knocked down, holding his face in agony. Then the patrons of the restaurant began staring and pointing. Maya is gripping Cam's arm, with a pained expression on her face. Before and anyone can react, Cam drags a fuming Brian out of the building. I stare at them all for a few seconds, my eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying. I run over to embrace Brian. He abruptly lets go. Taking my arms into his, palms facing up, looking at my wrists. They've now turned a deep shade of purple from Gabe's vulcan grip. I stare at them in shock.

"I'm gonna kill him. I have to kill him." Brian mutters under his breath, pacing back and forth, then turning around to go back in. Cam runs in front of him, fending him off. "Woah, easy there tiger. Didn't we already learn this lesson with me?" "But you didn't hurt her." He says, bumping Cam's shoulder as he brushed past him. Cam's eyes widened in shock as he heard it, walking over to a distraught Maya, leaning against the car, speechless. "Brian. Just stop." I say, though barely audible. He continues walking. "If you loved me at all. You'd come back here." I say, a bit louder this time. Brian stops in his tracks, not turning around, but not advancing. He stands, motionless for a few more seconds, before slowly walking away from us all, his eyes down, averting my glare. I sigh and wipe some stray tears. "Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows." I start to sing. "Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play." I continue as he turns around to face us. "The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you." he sings back beginning walking over. "The earth turns, the sun burns..." He sings, standing behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and placing his chin on my head. "But I die, without you." We sing together through tears. The paramedics show up and wheel Gabe away.

He turns to face us, glaring. "I hope you're happy with your whore girlfriend Brian... Psycho." Gabe says, sitting up to look our way. "I least I don't have to hurt girls to have them pay attention to me." Brian says, gesturing to my wrists. Gabe's eyes widen in shock. He's then lifted into the ambulance and taken away. Speechless. I start to cry again. After the tears stop flowing I look at Brian, then bury my face in his shirt. He runs his palm up and down my back whispering,"he can't hurt you anymore. He's gone. Shhhh it's okay. You're okay." We return to the car, silently driving back to camp.

Brian insists on spending the night with me. I climb in bed and try to sleep, but find trouble doing so. One for the record books all right.

**Dramatic and fun, one of my favorites. If you haven't heard the song I suggest you do. It's my favorite song from Rent (Without you). It's beautiful and kind of what I refer to as "our song" to Brian. So, review please! Love to know what you think and I need some new ideas! Thanks! **

**~ Gigi**


	14. I Drew a Map of Canada, Oh Canada

**Chapter 14: "I Drew a Map of Canada, Oh Canada"**

"Hey, you okay?" Brian says as I begin tossing and turning. "Yeah. I'm uh... I'm okay." I say, my back to him, discreetly wiping a tear that had slipped from the corner of my eye. "It's okay if you're not. I wouldn't be." I abruptly turn to face him. "But you're not me." I state, angrier than intended. "Let me see your arms." I turn his way, extending my arms to show him. He runs his fingers over the purple and green sections. I wince in pain. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that would hurt" "Everything hurts." I say, lying on my back and staring blankly at the ceiling. It had begun to rain. I sit up and stare out the window, tracing the droplets various patterns with my finger. "Gee, it's okay. You're going to be okay." He says, standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders. "When your life, and all you know is built on a foundation of lies, you learn to not be trusting. I never should have let my guard down." I say, still staring out the window. "It's not your fault. He did this to you. He chose to do it. He brought this upon himself and whatever punishment he gets will obviously not do justice, but there's a bigger matter at hand. You need to report him. You need to go to the authorities and get him for what he did to you. I love you goddammit and I never want to see anyone hurt you. If something worse were to have happened... I don't know what I'd do," he says, turning me toward him. "The thought of losing you makes me physically ill. You are my life. When you're excited about something, I get excited. When something sad happens, I'm there with the ice cream and tissues. No matter what, I will always have feelings for you. It's you and me to the end Gee, and I couldn't ask for anything more."

"You're amazing." I say,wrapping my arms securely around his neck. "You put up with my dramatic unconventional way of living. You listen to all the crap I say and you're always on my side. I love you. I found you. You and I, we're partners in crime. Wherever you go, I go." I say, releasing my grip and looking at him. "I don't think you should be around Gabe or anyone associated with him." Brian says pacing, using a serious tone. I look toward him with a concerned look spread across my face. After a few minutes of him muttering to himself and even more pacing, he looks up with a wide smile. "I'll have some convincing to do. But..." He says sitting back on my bed, his hands in mine. "I think we should go back to Canada. We'll go to degrassi, get 'billet families'. We can do this. I know we can." Millions of thoughts race through my mind. "That sounds just crazy enough to work." I say, smiling genuinely for the first time in a very long time.

We fell asleep shortly after. I guess we just needed to get away from it all for a while. "Gee. You have to wake up now." Brian says, turning toward me and kissing my forehead. "No. Sleep now. Function later." "You. Me. Cam. Maya. We're going to his house. I explained everything to Miss. Heb. Camp ends today anyway so she said it was fine. Now, up. Please." He says, getting up and walking to the bathroom. "Come here." I say, turning my head to face him and patting the bed. "You becond malady." Brian says, sitting on the edge of my bed. "No. Come here here." "Well if you insist." He says, bringing his lips to mine. "Okay. Now I guess I'll get up." I say, throwing the covers to the other side of my bed and jumping out of bed, stretching my arms above my head. I let out a big yawn. "You're lucky I like you." I say, walking to my dresser to pull out clothes for the day. "The feeling's mutual." He says, walking up behind me and putting his hands around my waist. "Alright alright. I need to get changed if we wanna be ready in time. Go shower. I'll be here when you get back." I say, carefully removing his hands and stepping back. "You tease." He jokes, walking into the bathroom.

"Morning!" Maya says in her very enthusiastic tone. "Hey M." I say yawning once more. "It's too early for this fuckery." I state as I slip on some shoes and head out the door. "Oh don't be such a Debbie Downer. This is gonna be fun!" "If you say so Matlin." First stop, the precinct.

We're at the police station. It's quiet. We sit in cold leather chairs in a holding area that smells like lemon cleanser. I hear clicking heels coming closer. "Hello. I'm officer Delauier, I've been told you want to file some charges regarding . Is this correct?" "Yes Ma'am." I say, squeezing Brian's hand. I leave the group and follow Officer Delauier into a small office. She sits down at a desk and opens up a file. "Okay, Miss. I see you've already summarized your claims against Mr. De Souza and have pictures of the damages. Is this correct?" "Yes Ma'am." "You claim he sexually assaulted you in public. Do you have any witnesses who could testify for you in case this were to go to trial?" I nod slowly. "Is it true that a," She says looking down at the file, "Brian Bierl interrupted said altercation and got physical with Mr. De Souza?" "Yes. But prior to said altercation, Mr. De Souza verbally assaulted him." "Yes. Okay." She says, scribbling notes on a legal pad. "It's standard procedure that we have a psychologist analyze you, are you okay with this?" "Yes Ma'am." Suddenly, a woman in a tan dress and a black suit jacket enters the room. "This is Ms. Burke. She will be evaluating you. I will be back when the tests are complete. Ms. Burke please have a seat." She says, scooting her chair back and exiting the room, closing the door tightly behind her.

**I know its kinda short but I'll update soon to make up for it. Love you all, have a great weekend!**


	15. Worn Out Places, Worn Out Faces

**Chapter 15: Worn out places, worn out faces**

"Hello Ms. Carlo. It's a pleasure to meet you. I just wish it were under better circumstances." "As do I ." "Okay. Now, we're not going to do any tests with ink blots and whatnot. I'm just here to make sure you didn't just imagine it all. Tell me what happened." She said leaning back in her chair and clicking her pen, beginning to write on a fresh pad of paper. "Well, my boyfriend, co-worker, his girlfriend and I were out to dinner at a local restaurant." I begin, but stop to take a deep breath before continuing. "I was speaking with Mr. De Souza in our usual banter but then I asked to speak to him privately. We hadn't talked in awhile and then suddenly he started calling me and texting me. I wanted to know if anything was wrong. Then, he grabbed hold of my wrists, not letting go. I said no but he kept holding on to me, rubbing my thigh. I tried to to get free from his grasps but I couldn't." I say trying to hold back tears. My voice was quivering. "Then, he said obscene things and started to stroke my arm. I couldn't handle it. I was uncomfortable and I forced him off of me. Granted, I know I shouldn't have slapped him, but it was the only way to get him off of me. Then I ran out the door." I say, grabbing a tissue. "After that my friends went to investigate. Brian was trying to get an answer out of him when Souza started insulting him to the point where he snapped. That's when Mr. Bierl punched him. But, in my opinion, I feel it was out of self defense." "Okay. Good, good. This is all good." says, writing things down furiously on her legal pad. "Okay. May I see the pictures of your wrists?" I take out my phone and scroll to the pictures, turning the phone to face her. "My god, he really did a number on you." She says, bringing the phone closer to her face and looking at it over her glasses. "May I see your wrists now?" I nod, then extend my arms toward her. They were less swollen and had gone to a lighter purple. As I turned them she gasped. "I'm very glad you came to us Ms. Carlo. This is a very serious accusation but with your hard evidence and 3 witnesses, I don't see how you could lose." "Thank you. May I please go now. It's been a long day and I haven't gotten much sleep these past nights." "Of course. We'll contact you if we need anything. Have a wonderful day." "You too." I say, gathering my belongings and walking back to where Brian, Maya and Cam were waiting. "How'd it go?" "Oh it went." I say, trying not to break. "Can we go home now?" "Of course Gee. We'll go to Cam's." Brian says, grabbing my hand, careful not to disturb my wrist. We walk out to Cam's car, the squeaking of our shoes on the linoleum tiles echoing through the halls.

We arrive at Cam's around 5 o'clock. His parents are spending the rest of the summer in Canada so it's still just us. "Ahhh. Just as I remembered it." Maya said, throwing her bag down and walking to the fridge. "Did you miss me?" She said, opening the fridge and talking to the food. "I can't eat all of you guys! Oh come on now. I still love you." She said, grabbing a bottle of water and closing the fridge again. She rejoined the group and brought her bags upstairs.

"Alright, what's on the agenda today Saunders?" I ask, following behind him on the stairs. "Well, I was thinking we'd stay in tonight. Watch some tv, chill out. All that jazz." "Sounds like a plan." I say, passing by his room and entering the infamous guest room. "I missed this place." I say, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing Brian who was standing in the doorway. "I know right! This is our own little safe haven. We can do no wrong here." "Well..." "I didn't mean to lose your fuzzy socks okay? It was an accident." "I think it was revenge over the Cam thing." I say leaning back and flopping on the bed. Brian walks over and sits on the bed next to me. "I love you okay? I can never stay mad at you. We had had a fight and there was a huge misunderstanding. You were vulnerable and you needed to confide in someone. I wasn't there for you." "Have you ever thought of switching your major to therapy or psychology?" I joke, punching his arm playfully. "You're easy to read. I know you so well. And music is my life, so no. I wouldn't want to switch majors." "Sweetie?" "Yeah?" "It was a joke." "Pshh I knew that." He said, his eyes shifted, nervously giggling. "You're cute when you're stupid." "And what about when I'm smart." "Then you're downright adorable." I say, sitting up to kiss him. "Hey- Oh I ruined the moment. Sorry guys. Resume... as you were." Maya says, quickly fleeing the room. We laugh as she ducks out. "Uhh I missed this." I say, flopping on the bed, my head dangling off the edge, staring at the wall upside down. "Me too babe. Me too..." Brian says, looking out the window, watching cars race by the busy street.

"Wanna hear something weird?" He asks, not turning from the window. "Sure. What's weird?" He pauses a minute, then begins. "All of these cars passing.. all of those people," he gestures, pointing outside the window "Their lives are all unique and we don't know any of them." "Spooky." I whisper, getting up and standing next to him. We stand there a minute, not speaking, just watching. "It's so.. peaceful." I whisper, putting my head on his shoulder. "What is?" He asks, staring at me quizzically. "The fact that somewhere, someone has a worse life than I do.." I say. He laughs softly. "Are we really going to Canada?" I ask, looking up at him. "Yes. I want you to be safe, and the only way that can happen is if we get you away from him. "Are you coming too?" "Try and stop me." He says, opening his arms for a warm embrace. We stand like this for a while longer, my head resting against his chest, listening to his steady heart beat.

**Some filler to get to better chapters. I'm not too happy with Maya right now. Sad thing is, I think I'd like Harry if he weren't with Maya. I love Talia though. Even when she's drunk she says some pretty thoughtful things.** **Please Please PLEASE REVIEW. I don't know how I'm doing without reviews. No matter how long or short the review, I appreciate it all. Update to come soon.**


	16. When Hearts Like Ours Meet

**Chapter 16: "When hearts like ours meet"**

"Its cold." I say emotionless as we lie down in bed. It's about 10:30. "Then scoot my way madame." "As you wish." I say, shifting closer. "So... tomorrow." "Tomorrow." He echoes, draping an arm across my back and hooking it on my waist, pulling me closer. "Can I ask you something?" I say, turning to face him. "Shoot." "What would you say If I told you Cam and I... uh... ya know..." "Did you?" He asks surprisingly calm. "No. But, just out of curiosity, what would you say?" "Well, during that time you were vulnerable. I wouldn't yell or scream or anything. I mean, yeah, I'd be a little mad, but I wouldn't harbor a grudge." "I love you." I say sincerely, looking into his cerulean eyes. "Forever and always my sweet." He says, pulling me closer, then gently kissing my forehead. "Do you think we'll ever-" "Babe, we're fifteen. I love you, but I'm not ready to express that kind of intimacy." "No you dink. Do you think we'll ever... get married?" I say, clearing my throat, a bit scared for the answer. "Funny you should mention it." He says, getting up from his bed and walking to his suitcase, reappearing with a small blue velvet box. He slowly opens the box to showcase a small gold ring. "Ohmygod." I utter quietly. In the middle sat a small sapphire with diamond clusters on either side. "Now this," he says, taking it from the box, "is a promise ring. As long as you wear it, you promise to one day, marry me." "It's absolutely stunning." I say as he places it on my ring finger. "Now, I have one too." He says, showing me a plain gold ring placed on his hand. "Where did you find this?" I ask, staring at the ring. "It belonged to my grandmother. It was my Dad's and now it's mine. I kept it in my bag and was planning on giving it to you tomorrow but now seemed as good a time as any." "Just warning you, my Dad forbids marriage before I'm 30. It's this weird rule that I already agreed to." "I can wait." He says, getting back under the covers and refilling the spot once occupied by his body.

The next morning we boarded the plane to Toronto, our bags packed and ready to go. "Bye America!" I say, waving as the plane began soaring through the sky. "You have no idea how tired I am." Maya says, yawning and reclining her seat, turning on her side before beginning to snore. "Beautiful ain't it?" Cam jokes, pulling a water out from his bag.

"So, this is Toronto..." I think to myself as we sit in a cab we'd taken from the airport. "Stunning." I hear Brian say as he stares out the window. The air was crisp and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A perfect day. Brian had insisted on running over the schedule with me a few times. He'd said that he would be living with the Vanzant's and I would be staying with the Matlin's. They'd turned Maya's older brothers room into a guest room after he left home for Chicago. And Brian would stay in the guest room Cam and I had stayed in just a month earlier.

Once we'd gotten the boys settled Maya and I headed to her house to unpack and settle in. Her house was made entirely out of red brick, her shingles a charcoal color. We walked up the paved path, over the ramp and into her house. Her Mother's handicapped so the house is entirely accessible. We'd had so many bags we decided the elevator would be easier. As we rode to the second floor of her small house, Maya let out a sigh. "Summer's almost over and we've spent most of it wrapped up in drama. Our lives colliding seemed to add quite a bit of stress." "Well, in my life, I'm not sure if it's the same case in yours but... every time something's going well, someone or something gets in the way to make a mess of it. Then I'm forced to pick the pieces back up and start again." "Amen sister." She sats as the elevator opened its doors. Home sweet home?

**I know the whole "promise ring" thing is kinda cheesy, but I think its sweet. I mean, I'm not even thinking about marriage right now, but ya know, its kinda sweet when you think about it. The whole idea of being faithful to a man or women for the rest of your life. Having a partner in crime. And for those of you interested, this is The Ring I was referring to. Have a lovley evening or day. And PLEASE REVIEW! It would mean ****_so_**** much to me.**

**Love and Rockets, **

**Gioia**


	17. A House is Not a Home

**Chapter 17: A House is Not a Home**

I sit on the edge of the bed and stare at the half-empty room. I start to breath a little heavier. The sound echoes. The room still smells of teenage boy: pizza, cheeto dust, and heavy cologne. The walls are painted a light gray-blue color, all walls vacant, except for a small bulletin board. I lay on the slightly too firm mattress and stare at the ceiling, trying to find shapes in the uneven stucco patches. The sheet on the bed is a basic white and the pillows match the gray-blue walls. I hear a faint knock on the door. I slip off of the edge of the bed and answer the door. Maya, her face shielded by boxes, enters the room "Let me take some." I say, grabbing boxes from her pile, revealing her disheveled face. "Hey... you okay?" "Me, yeah. Totally fine." Maya says, still a bit spacey. "Okay. And also, thank you so much for letting me stay here. It means a lot." "Oh it's no trouble at all. I'm just glad to have another girl around here. My sister left for college a week ago and I'm lonely without her here." "I know how you feel. My sister left for college when I was 11, and it was a pretty big adjustment for me. If you need to talk, you know where I live hahaha." "I may just take you up on that." Maya says sighing, placing a box on the floor and beginning to unpack and put away its contents.

**Brian's POV**

His house is drafty. We took all of my things from the cab to "my room", ie the guest room. Once all of the boxes and suitcases are there, we walk around, silently unpacking. "It means a lot that you let me stay here. Thank you so much, Cam." I say, opening up another suitcase and beginning to put its content in my bureau "No problemo. We're not at each other's throat anymore, and, its nice to have another guy to talk to around here." "Hahaha, I hear that. I have two little brothers who get all the attention and the sympathy." "Oh but sisters are far worse. They make you paint your nails and play princess games with them." Cam says, looking up from the stack of books he'd been putting away. "Hahaha, I've been roped into that a few times by my cousins." I say closing the drawer to my bureau and standing up, letting out a big yawn. "I'll get out of your hair now. It's getting late." He says, looking down at his watch. "I still can't believe school starts next week." I say, walking Cam to the door. "But trust me, you'll never be bored. Where there's degrassi, there's drama." He says, raising his eyebrows up and walking to his room, just down the hall.

**My POV**

"Morning!" Maya says, opening my door, greeting me with two coffee cups. "Hey M." I say, stretching my arms above my head and getting out of bed. "We're going shopping today!" Maya says giddily, handing me a mug of coffee. "Hahahaha, and why is that?" I ask, bringing the hot cup to my lips, taking in a big gulp. "Well school starts soon and we need supplies: snacks, binders, pencils..." She lists, counting items off on her fingers. "Oh, and we should get you some new clothes." Maya says, looking through my closet. "And why is that?" I ask defensively. "Well your clothes were made for much warmer weather. Even being from New England, you won't be able to understand how cold it gets here... Imagine your worst Winter, that's our Autumn at its best. "Alright. Just let me change and take a shower." "I'll be waiting." Maya says creepily. "Oh M." I say under my breath, grabbing a towel and a change of clothes, then heading to the shower.

**I Know its short, that's why I posted two chapters. This chapter is just some filler so its not that great, but I hope you liked it anyway. **


	18. Maybe My Baby Will Be the One to Leave

**Chapter 18: Maybe My Baby Will Be the One to Leave Me**

So, naturally, Maya decides to call Tris and Tori, and they gladly accept the invitation. Our first stop: Target. I pull out my phone to text Bry.

**Me: Hey B, miss you loads. Can we meet up for lunch? Maya said there's this place by school called The Dot that everyone goes to. Love you, Gioia.**

I hit send as we walk into the mall. The suffocating smell of perfume hits my nose as we make a left, past the Forever 21, and into Target. It's a Thursday, so the mall is quiet. The only people who come to the mall on Thursday's, are the people who work here, and old people who need something to do. My phone buzzes.

**Bry: Hey Gee, I miss you even more. Of course I can meet you for lunch. We'll meet around 12:30, is that cool? Love you too, Brian.**

"Hey Maya?" "Yeah?" She says, not looking up from the clothes rack she'd been digging through. "Can we go to The Dot for lunch later? I was thinking the 4 of us plus Brian and Cam could hang out and ya know, get something to eat?" "Sure, no problemo." She says, pulling a gray cardigan from the rack and holding it up in front of me, thinking. "This." She says handing me the sweater and flashing her million watt smile. "Perfect." I say walking with Maya to where Tori and Tris had been picking out more clothes. "Okay, we've figured it out. And be proud Maya, because we had to do some math," Tori began, an excited Tris standing next to her holding the clothes. "We picked: a black heavy-duty sweater," she started, Tris showcasing each item she listed. "One blue and one white long sleeve shirt, a pair of red skinny jeans, a navy blue peacoat, a few sweatshirts, some zip up, some don't and last, but certainly not least, a pair of moccasins for those days when you feel like you want only your feet to be warm." She said, giddy at the idea of seeing me in these outfits. "And as a bonus point, I kept the sheet I wrote your sizes on, so we can save the clothing montage for the Matlin residence later tonight." She said, high fiving Tris and putting all of the clothes into a nearby basket, wheeling it over to the school supplies.

It's 11:30 and we just got home. Maya helped me put all the clothes and school supplies away before walking to the living room and turning the tv on. "Hey Gigi?" She says, walking to the kitchen to grab a snack. "Yeah?" I say, lying down on the couch. "I was gonna invite Tori and Tris to sleep over tonight, do you want me to invite the guys too?" "If you want sure. I do kinda miss having them around." "Okay, I'll call Cam right now." She says, a smile on her face at the thought of spending the night with Cam. "Hey Cam. Do you wanna sleep at my place tonight? I mean, I'm inviting Tori and Tris and Gigi and I thought, ya know, why not hit you guys up? Whaddya say?" There's a long pause as she waits for his response. "Okay, and I'll see you in like an hour for lunch... Love you too Cheesy. Bye" She swoons, pressing end call on her phone. "What's the verdict M?" "They said okay." She says happily, bringing a bowl of popcorn over and changing the channel, settling on Lost.

We head to The Dot at 12:14. It's only a block from Maya's house so we decide to walk, seeing as the weather is nice. The boys are already there, sitting at a booth by the window. Tris and Tori couldn't make it, they'd been planning a West Drive marathon for a week and if they didn't start now, they wouldn't be able to finish the v-log for their YouTube channel. They have over 1,000 subscribers.

Maya and I meet the boys at their table. "Hey guys." I say hugging Cam as he stands up to greet us then moving to Brian for a hug and a quick kiss. "Sow, how have you both been? Adjusting well I assume?" I say sitting down and taking a sip of the water in front of me. The Dot has a very modern feel, with chrome appliances and a menu written on a black chalkboard with vibrant colors. "We've been doing well. I think we're back into the swing of things and ready for school to start I guess." Brian says, leaning back into the booth. "I would have to agree. At first it felt weird to be back, but I'm glad we can hang out with you guys. I'm ready to face another year." Maya says, looking from me to Bry to Cam, staring deeply into his soft brown eyes. "I missed you M." Cam says, taking Maya's hands into his from across the table. "I missed you two Cam." She said, squeezing his hands lightly as she said it. I lean back in the booth. "You okay Gee?" Brian whispered, looking concerned. "Yeah, just a little tired. I didn't get much sleep last night. It's weird being this far from home ya know?" "Yeah, I hear that. I didn't get much sleep last night either. Its just hard to sleep in a bed that's not your own." "Exactly." I say, a smile forming on my face. "But, even without sleep, I'm always up for eating. Hey guys...?" I say, turning my head to see their faces attached. "Oh okay... No one needs to see that." I say putting a hand up to block my peripheral vision. "Oh uh, sorry guys." Maya says, separating from Cam and re-applying chapstick to her lips. She begins sitting up again, giggling at Cam. The waitress comes by our table to take orders, furiously clicking and unclicking her pen against the pad of paper she takes orders on. "Welcome to The Dot, my name is Alli Bhandari and I'll be your waitress, how may I help you?" "Hey Alli, uhh, I'll take a sprite and some fries." Cam began, smiling brightly at Alli. "Sure thing Cam. What about you Maya?" "Ummm. I'll take a vanilla milkshake and a burger." "Okay." Alli says, writing the order on the pad. "And what about you two?" "Umm, I'll get a lemonade and a caesar salad." I say, handing her my menu. "And you sir?" "Uh, water and a slice of pizza." Brian says, politely smiling. "Okay, I'll be right back with drinks. Thanks!" She says, smiling and walking away from the table. "Who is that?" I ask, looking from Cam to Maya. "That's Alli, she graduated with my sister in the Spring. She's supposed to be a Senior this year, but she graduated early because she got accepted to some school on a science scholarship. She tutored Cam in Chem too." Maya says, folding her napkin over and over into tiny squares. "Wow, that's so amazing!" I say, looking at a distraught Maya. "Yeah... I uh, can I talk to you, privately?" "Yeah. Sure." I say, concerned. I slowly get up from my seat and follow her to the bathroom.

"What's up Maya?!" I say, scared for the answer. "I think. I think I may be pregnant." She says, staring at me innocently, trying to hold back tears. "Oh my god. Are you sure?" "Well, no. I haven't bought the test yet, but I'm late. And Cam and I, uh, well you know!" She says, getting a bit angry. "M, it's going to be fine. If you're not pregnant, then that's cool and if you are, what better a person to have a baby with than the boy you love?" "That's just it. Cam and I are just starting to get back into the swing of things. A baby would not help right now." She says teary eyed, looking down at her shoes. "Maya Matlin, Cam loves you, and even if this isn't the best thing right now, he'll help you along the way. No matter what decision you choose. We'll all help you. Now, how about we clean you up and get you back out there?" I say grabbing a paper towel and wiping the tears that had escaped. "Thank you." She says smiling, and wrapping her arms around me for a warm embrace.

After we'd finished eating, I slipped into the drugstore to buy a test. No one in this town knows me, so it seemed like a good idea for me to do it. "Hello hello hello. My name is Dave Turner, how may I help you today?" A very cheery store clerk says as I walk to the counter. "Just this." I say, discreetly pushing the box toward him. "Woah. Alright. Your secrets safe with me." He says winking. "It's not for me." "Suuuuure. That's what they all say mystery girl." He says, ringing up the total and handing me the bag. "It's Gigi." I say, taking the bag and handing him my money. "Alright. Well, Gigi, 'have a nice day'." He says, pointing to the button on his uniform. "Will do Dave." I say, turning and walking out of the store.

**Dave Turner everyone. If you liked him I can add him again later on in the story. Let me know in the reviews. **


	19. Some Things are Meant to be

**Chapter 19: Some Things are Meant to be**

I hide the test in my bag and walking into the Matlin house. Maya's sitting on the couch in the dark, crying. "Maya, Maya it's gonna be okay, I promise. Come on now, we can do this. We're a team." I say, sitting on the coffee table across from her, trying to get her to look me in the eye. "Now Maya, I know you're scared, but if we don't find out, the possible baby we've got, will be in great danger, okay?" "Okay." She says quietly, her voice shaky. I guide her to the bathroom and pull out the box. "Now we take off this cap thingy, you do your thing and we wait 5 minutes. Alright?" I ask handing her the test. She stays silent. "Alright. I'll be waiting outside. Call me if you need anything." I say, rubbing her back gently, then sitting outside the door. A few moments later Maya came out with the test, deeply breathing. "Okay. So now we wait?" "Yup, we wait." I say setting a timer on my phone.

We talk for awhile, sitting on the floor right outside the bathroom until my phone goes off. "Maya. Its time." I say, gently squeezing her hand for support. She gets up and goes into the bathroom, where she had kept the test. She walks back out and looks at me, her face emotionless. "Not pregnant." She says, letting out a sigh of relief. "That's so great!" I say hugging her closely. "Now you can enjoy the rest of your night, but we should go to the clinic later to get another test done, just in case. "Okay, and thanks so much Gigi. It means a lot that you'd be willing to help me in my time of crisis." "Honestly, I'm happy to. What are friends for? But, I do have one question for you." "Name it." Maya says, finally back to her old self. "Are you going to tell Cam?" "Wow, I uh, I hadn't thought of that. I guess I kinda have to. But ya know, with you on my side, I'm not worried." "That's the right mindset Matlin." I say, getting up to throw out the test and box.

Tristen and Tori arrived shortly after I calmed Maya down. We sat in the living room, watching as many scary movies as we could find. Which was surprisingly a lot. At 5 the boys came over. "Hey girls and Tristen, we brought over rocky road cookies, all the way from Kapuskasing, mama Saunders' specialty." Cam says, walking through the door and into the kitchen, placing the tin of cookies on the counter. "Hey Cam?" Maya asks, getting up from her spot on the couch, Brian quickly taking her place. "Yes Babe." Cam said, a smile on his face. "I uh... I need to tell you something. Lets go to the kitchen." Maya nervously utters, taking Cam's hand in hers and guiding him to the kitchen. "You okay?" "I will be." She says, closing the door between the living room and the kitchen. We can still hear their muffled words. Tris and Tori are completely oblivious to what's happening, continuing to watch the movie. "What's going on?" Brian whispers, turning toward me with a look of concern quickly growing on his face. "I wish I could tell you, but I swore to Maya I wouldn't. But, it doesn't involve us for once." I say, trying to get to the lighter side, rubbing his shoulder for comfort. "Alright. Will Maya be okay?" "I hope so." I say, turning toward the closed kitchen door.

**This one's kinda short, so I'll be updating twice. On vacation this week so I'll probs update 3 more times this week. Love you all and Please review!**


	20. Just Because There Once was Love

**Chapter 20: Just Because There Once was Love**

"Hey guys." Maya says, emerging from the kitchen, wiping away a tear. "Maya, why are you crying?" Brian asks, walking over to her. "I just, I need to go for a walk. I'll see you in a bit." She says, putting her jacket on. "I'm going with you." I insist, quickly getting up from my seat. "Keep her out of trouble." Brian whispers after pulling me aside. "I love you." I say, hugging him tightly. "Text if something's wrong." "Okay, and stay safe. Bye." "Bye." I say, finally detaching myself from him. I open the door for Maya and she storms out. Cam is still nowhere to be seen. "Maya... Maya?" I say, running to catch up to her. "What happened?" "Well, I told him everything and he said, it wouldn't have been his anyway." She mocked, growing angrier by the minute. "Wow. But you haven't... with anyone else right?" "No! He was my first, but he's saying it would be Zig's." "That's ridiculous." "I know!" My phone buzzes. "Are you sure he wasn't joking?" "Honestly? I'm not sure. I can never tell with him." She says, clearly unsure. I check my phone.

**Bry: Cam's a mess right now. I'm trying to get the story out of him but he won't say anything. Are you both okay? I begin typing a response.**

**Me: Yeah, I figured he wouldn't say. I'm fine, but Maya's not doing too well.**

"What else happened?" I say concern growing in my voice. "Well, then we got into the worst fight. It wasn't physical, but verbal punches were thrown from both sides." She says, sitting on a nearby park bench. "Maya, I'm sure he didn't mean it. Granted, he's got a twisted sense of humor, but don't we all?" I say, rubbing her shoulder. "Just tell him how you're really feeling, and that you've been emotional after this chaotic day. He'll understand. I promise. Now, let's get you back home. I think, what you really need now, is good company and pajamas." I say gently taking her hand in mine and guiding her back home. My phone buzzes again.

**Bry: Okay, so I talked him out of the kitchen. He's not saying much, but he wants her home.**

I smile at the screen and type a reply.

**Me: Good, because we're in the driveway right now.**

I hit send, then take Maya through the front door. The house is quiet and dark. I hear laughter coming from the kitchen. "Oh hey." Tris says as he spots Maya and I entering. They're making cookies. "Where is he?" Maya asks, her voice faint. "They're both upstairs talking in Katie's room. Cookie?" Tori says, extending a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies. "No thanks. I'm not hungry. I need to talk to him. See you all in a little bit." She says, taking a deep breath and heading for the stairs.

"She refused food. Must have been a bad fight." Tori says, placing another tray in the oven.

"So, what's the plan for tonight, other than cookies?" I ask, taking yet another cookie from the tray. I lost count somewhere around 5. Brian runs down the stairs abruptly. "Everything okay B?" I ask. "Yeah, they just started making out and well... yeah." He says, walking over to me and draping an arm over my shoulders. "They're okay now, right?" I ask, hopeful for Cam and Maya getting back together. "Yeah, you can count on it." He says, picking up and cookie and walking to the kitchen table, where Tris and Tori were sitting. The phone rings, and I jump up to get it. "Hello?" "Hello, is this Ms. Carlo?" "Yes and who is this?" I ask the mystery voice. "It's Ms. Burke, the counselor you talked to about Mr. De Souza." "Ahh yes. I remember now." "Good. Now, Ms. Carlo, Mr. De Souza is out of the hospital and we're beginning to make arrangements for your trial. Do you still want to proceed in pressing charges?" "Yes Ma'am." I say, my voice weak and faint at the thought of facing him again. "Now, do you still have contact with your witnesses?" "Yes, I live with them." I say, laughing a little. "Good. Have a wonderful evening Ms. Carlo, I'm glad to hear your doing well. Justice shall prevail, on that note I am positive. Goodbye Ms. Carlo." "Goodbye." I say before hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Tori asks, looking up from her phone in curiosity. "Ms. Burke, my counselor. She's starting to schedule and figure out legal junk for my trial." I say, suddenly feeling a mixture of tiredness and emptiness. "Babe, it's okay. He'll get what he deserves, I'm sure of it. We'll deal with it all later. Right now we just have to eat cookies and have a good time. Live in the moment." "Says the boy that does his laundry daily, just in case?" I taunt, laughing at his shocked face. "That was supposed to stay a secret." "They don't listen to us half the time. And who would they tell? Maya and Cam? I don't think they'll care that much to be honest B." I say, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and looking up at him. He wasn't that much taller than me, but I have to look up at him when he's standing up straight and I'm not. "You're lucky I like you." He says, his hand migrating to my waist. "You tolerate me." I say, looking at him knowingly. "You're damn right." He says, putting a finger under my chin and leaning in to kiss me, this kiss soft and innocent. "I love you." I say after the kiss is broken. "I know." He says jokingly, walking away. "Why must you taunt me so?" I ask, going to sit down. "Says the girl that wouldn't kiss me for a month because you thought it was a curse after you failed your science final? I'm getting even." He says, narrowing his eyes. "You can't wait too long my friend, I'm an addiction, and rehab ain't workin for ya bro." I wink, grabbing a water from the fridge, then sitting back down. "You're evil." He says, shaking his head. "I'm, right." I say, opening the water and beginning to drink.

"Hey guys." Maya says, coming downstairs, her hair a mess and her clothes rumpled. "You have, makeout hair." I whisper to her. Then Cam came downstairs, in a pair of sweatpants and a wife beater. "Alright, now that that's taken care of, what should we do? Its only 8:30, your parents are in PEI and, well, we should do something. It's our last night to all hang together until school starts." Tori says, putting her hands together and thinking. "Movie marathon anyone?" Tris asks, pulling out a basket he'd hid under the table, full of classic movies. "For your viewing pleasure we have: The Breakfast Club, Sixteen candles, The Goonies, War Games, Back to The Future, Pretty in Pink, Dirty Dancing, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Footloose, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Risky Business, Working Girl, 9 to 5, The Karate Kid, Weekend at Bernie's, Die Hard, Steel Magnolias, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off." He says smiling, bringing the basket to the living room and popping in the first movie, then walking to Maya's pantry and grabbing at least 12 things of popcorn. "Trust me, you'll need all of them." He says knowingly, popping the first into the microwave. "Grab your seats guys, we'll be here awhile, I'd get comfortable if I were you." Tris says, grabbing drinks and staking his spot on one of the couches.

**Hope you liked this chapter. The next one is pretty good and will probably be up tomorrow in the afternoon. **


	21. Inconceivable!

**Chapter 21: "Inconceivable!"**

Once settled into our spots: Maya's head in Cam's lap on one couch, my head on Brian's chest on the other couch, and Tris with Tori, snuggling on the loveseat. We had just finished The Princess Bride and we had all begun to get into that strange state of overtired behavior, when everything is funny and you nod off halfway through a conversation. Maya was the first asleep, lightly snoring, Cam playing with her hair. Next was Tris, who grabbed a blanket and lied down, spreading his legs out, a letting out a big yawn, slowly drifting in and out of sleep. Then Tori and Cam fell asleep shortly after. Brian and I were the last two. I got up to turn off the tv, and went back to Brian, finding comfort in his supportive arms. The house was dark, and besides Maya's snoring and everyone elses breathing, the only sound came from the hum of the refrigerator and the running dishwasher.

School in two days, that's a scary thought. Starting a new school, new people judging me. Oh well, at least I had 5 other familiar faces to look up to in the hallways.

After one of the best night's sleep I've had in the longest time, I needed to get up. Today Maya and I were headed to the clinic to double check the results of our home pregnancy test.

Tristen was the first one up. He made breakfast, so we all woke up to the smell of bacon cooking. Oh that boy. What I would give to have him be my brother. He's caring, yet sassy and fun. He's the trifecta of perfection.

"Thanks Tris!" I say, yanking a piece of bacon from the plate he'd set on the kitchen table. He'd laid out an amazing spread: chocolate chip pancakes, freshly cut strawberries, toast, waffles, homemade apple butter, freshly squeezed orange juice and bacon. Along with a giant vat of coffee. "No problem. I have to train myself to get up early 2 weeks before school starts, so I decided to put my culinary talents to the test and make breakfast for my favorite people." "Aww, love you Tris." Tori says, hugging Tristen and swiping a waffle from the plate behind him. "You only love me for my amazing cooking skills." He jokes, putting the dirty dishes into the sink, and beginning to wash them. "Tris, aren't you gonna eat?" Maya asked, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "I made myself an egg white omelet with red bell peppers and chives along with some raspberry tea and scones. There are more scones in the oven if you want any." Tristen said, revealing the food he'd mentioned, taking a few bites, then retiring to the sink to scrub at the dishes. "Tris, sit down, I'll do them later." Maya stated kindly, gently pushing him to the vacant seat at the table. The boys were too busy eating to talk. Stuffing their faces and enjoying every greasy morsel.

Once the dishes were done and all had left, Maya and I lounged around the house before her appointment at the neighborhood clinic. I just hope our lives don't turn into an episode of "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant".

At two we took a taxi downtown for Maya's appointment. The waiting room smelt like antibacterial soap and all the outdated magazines had water stains on them. "Matlin comma Maya?" A nursing assistant with a clipboard asked, standing in front of us with an "I'm better than you" look on her face. "Yes, this is Maya, I say, putting a hand on her shoulder." "Good, follow me." She said, leading us down a winding hallway, stopping at a big brown door and entering a code. The big door buzzed and opened. Leading us to a narrower hallway that smelt of baby powder. "The doctor will see you now." The assistant said, her face vacant, leading us into a big blue exam room, with pictures of a man in a cap and gown standing next to proud looking parents. One from high school, one from college, and one from med school. The smiles on everyone's faces growing as time passed. I sit in a chair off to the side, and maya kicks the stool out to hop on the exam table, the paper rustling as she does so. The room is quiet. And yet, between the noises of the birds outside, and the beeping of machines in the hallway, it's not a chilling silence. It's more... expected, given the situation.

"Hello Ma'am, I'm Doctor Rostamnezhad. I'll be assisting you today. What seems to be the issue?" He asks, taking notes on his clipboard. "Well, my boyfriend and I had a pregnancy scare. I took a home test and the result was negative, but I just wanna make sure." She says, peeling the polish off her nails as she sits nervously. "No problem. I'll grab what I need for a blood test and have a nurse here in a few moments. See you in a bit." He says with a gentle voice and smile, closing the door softly on his way out. "M. You'll be fine I promise, if its positive, we'll figure out what needs to be done. Its your choice, remember that." I say. averting my gaze and staring at the blue and green tiles on the floor.

"Roll up your sleeve please." The tired-looking nurse says as she picks up the alcohol wipe, unfolding and dabbing it onto her arm. After the blood is drawn and the nurse is gone, Maya sits on the exam table, rocking her feet forward and back. As if to travel away from the issue. After what seems like an hour of silence between Maya and I, the doctor comes in with a file. "Ms. Matlin, the result are back and 'you are NOT the babies daddy.' Hahaha, do you know how many times I've wanted to do that?" He asks, looking and me and smiling his childish grin. "Hahaha. Thank you doctor." Maya says, through a big, almost fake looking smile. "No problem." He says, going to the door and opening it slowly. "Oh and by the way you're pregnant." "What?!" We both say in unison. "I'm kidding!" He says, waving us off with his hand and laughing to himself down the hallway.

"Well that was an adventure." I say to Maya, giving her her coat as she gets off of the exam table. "Sure was G." She says, putting her arms through the sleeves of her hoodie. "Bluh, I need some sleep. Lets go home. Oh and school tomorrow. Gross." She says, holding the door for me as we walk outside to the busy streets of Toronto.

**An excited Becky Baker is coming your way: beware. REVIEW!**


	22. Glory, Beyond the Cheap Colored Lights

**Chapter 22: "Glory, Beyond the Cheap Colored Lights"**

"Up please!" Maya says pulling the covers off of me and opening the curtains, letting in the insane amount of light. "Sleeping." I say, clenching my closed eyes tighter and blindly searching for my comforter. "Its the first day of school! You should get up, or we'll be late!" She says in a singsong voice. "Oh fine." I say, finding my glasses and yawning as I walk to the bathroom to wash my face. I'd showered last night because I knew I wouldn't want to get up the next morning.

After applying makeup, getting dressed and throwing my hair into a ponytail to get it out of the way, I walked downstairs for breakfast. Mrs. Matlin was sitting at the kitchen table, eating grapefruit and reading the newspaper. Mr. Matlin was staring at his ipad, wrinkling his nose at the oatmeal in front of him. They'd gotten back from PEI early this morning.

I walk to the cupboard and grab a box of puffins cereal, pouring some into a bowl and walking to the fridge for milk. The fridge is stocked with so much health food its scary. No wonder Maya stocked up on junk food.

I sit down with my bowl of cereal and watch as Maya packs her lunch. Its like playing a game of tetris. She has to position the yogurt in such a way, that it won't disturb the banana or her jelly sandwich. She insisted on making my lunch too. Which was fine by me, seeing as I wouldn't have had time anyway.

After she arranges everything in her backpack, she sits down to eat her all natural kashi cereal. When no one's looking she drops a handful of chocolate chips into it. Not that her parents would care. I think she just likes this weird sense of rebellion.

When she finished her cereal, Maya checked and rechecked her backpack for anything that might be missing. Every time coming out with the same total it should be: 4 binders, 1 ruler, index cards, markers, pencil sharpener, pencils (mechanical and regular), black pens, book covers, cap erasers, a graphing calculator, and notebook paper. All must be in order in the world of Maya Matlin. The fact that she's more nervous than I am, is shocking.

We get into the car shortly after, Mr. Matlin driving us to school grounds. A girl with bright blonde greets us at the door. "Hello, my name is Becky Baker, are you freshman or a new student?" She asks with a chipper tone. "We're sophomores, but she's new." Maya says, gesturing my way. "Great!" Becky says, taking my hand in hers and pulling me to the main office, Maya slowly trailing beside us, trying so hard not to laugh.

"Mr. Simpson, I have a new student." She says beaming, raising our hands, making it look like I've just won a boxing match. "Perfect, thank you Becky." Mr. Simpson says, looking serene, with a faint smile and a sense of pride. "Hello, welcome to the hallowed halls of Degrassi Community School. What's your name?" He asks, walking to his filing cabinet and turning his head, awaiting my response. "Gioia Carlo." I say shyly, holding one of my elbows with my other hand, leaning against the wall shyly. "Ahh yes." He says pulling my thin file out, and placing it on his desk carefully before taking a seat. "Maya and Gioia, please take a seat." He says, flipping through pages before pulling the right one out. "Here is your schedule. You and Ms. Matlin have nearly identical schedules for easier access." He says, placing the sheet in front of me. "And here are our student handbook dress code regulations and list of school policies." He says, placing two more sheets in front of me. "Alright, its great to have you as part of the DCS family, go panthers!" He says, putting his fist in the air and walking us out of his office, Brian and Cam passing us on the way, being escorted by a skipping Becky. "Go panthers." I say under my breath, folding the sheets of paper and placing them in my backpack. "GO PANTHERS!" Becky repeats as she passes by us in the hallway with the boys.

Maya walks me to the front desk to get my locker assignment. The blonde middle-aged secretary with a bad perm snaps her gum as we near her. "Yes." She says annoyed, looking up from her phone. "Hi, I'm Gioia Carlo, I'm new and my friend here told me that you can give me my locker assignment." "You heard right." She says, snapping her gum once more and wheeling her office chair to the filing cabinet, pulling out yet another file and examining it closely. "You're locker 860." She says, scribbling something down on a sticky note. "Here is your combo, don't lose it. And your locker is in the English wing." She says, forcefully sticking the note to the back of the my hand that had been resting on her desk. "Welcome to Degrassi. Go Panthers." She says with little enthusiasm. About 100 yards away I hear Becky repeat the same message.

Maya takes me to my locker. Mine's on the opposite side of the school from hers. Maya informs me that my locker is in "Ice Hound central". Go Panthers.

A few moments later, after I've put all my belongings into my locker and started reviewing my schedule, Brian and Cam show up, no sign of Becky. "Oh thank god we lost her." Cam says panting, his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. "I know. Why is she so spirited?" Brian asks, sloping his back down the wall and sitting on the cold tile floor. "Honestly? I don't know. Her brother is so cynical, I guess Becky is the constant source of pep in the family. Weird." Cam says, sitting next to Brian on the floor. "Hahaha, the welcoming committee already nabbed you?" I ask, looking at the two boys briefly, then looking back at my schedule. "I swear if I hear her say 'go panthers' one more time. I may scream." Cam says, rocking back and forth. "Not a fan of the Jesus freaks?" Maya asks, looking at a distraught Cam. "Hahahaha very funny." He says sarcastically. "You know my Mom's family was crazy religious. Thank god Mom got off that bandwagon." He says, grinning and looking off into space. "What, you don't wanna be involved in the gay bashing friendship club?" Maya asks jokingly, walking over to the guys as I shut my locker. Other than teachers in their classrooms, we're the only one's around. "Oh come on, that's not all they do." Maya says. We all laugh when the Ice hounds burst through the hallway.

"Oh shit," Cam says, trying to look in the opposite direction so they won't notice him. "Guys look! If it isn't Mini Mat and Rookie!" Luke says, slowly creeping toward us, with the other Ice Hounds in the background. "Come on guys." Cam whispers, slowly getting up and starting to leave. "Where do you think you're going?" Luke asks, his drowns circling us. "Luke can you just stay out of it? You know the only reason you're captain, is because of my injury. Once I'm better, you become co-captain." Cam says, getting dangerously close to him. "But what if you never heal. That could be arranged." He says, turning to his crownies with a malicious look on his face. "But aren't you a good christian." Cam says sarcastically, looking at him through narrowed eyes. "Isn't it a sin to hurt me?" He asks in the same tone. "What if I told your preacher father about what you just said?" Cam asks, backing up now and folding his arms over his chest. "Would daddy like that?" He asks, looking at him straight on, as if trying to burn through his skull with his withering stare. "Lets go guys." Luke says defeated, turning around and walking away. "Coward." Cam says under his breath, returning to the group.

"Well that was... something." I say, sitting down with the rest of them. School doesn't start for another hours, but new students and freshman have to be there early. And the Ice Hounds like to scope out new puck bunnies. "Let me see your schedule." I say to Brian, pulling mine from my backpack pocket and handing it to him. "You're too smart. We only have two classes together, and one of them's study." I say, handing the sheet back to him. "Hahaha. Do have any classes with these two?" He asks, gesturing to Cam and Maya. "Maya and I have: History, Geo, Bio, and study's together. I don't know about Cam." I say. Cam hands me his schedule, I compare them. "We have English and... Chorus? You take chorus?" I ask. "Well, yeah. I, I um... I like singing." He says, turning away. "I'm shocked. I thought for sure you'd be in wood shop or something." I say laughing. "Cam's not like other guys." She says staring into his eyes. "Alright alright. Before you two start making out right here. What classes do the rest of you have together?" I ask, looking at no one in particular. "Well, Maya and I have French and study together." Cam says, still gazing into her eyes. "Brian and I don't have any classes together, he's too smart." Cam says, breaking his gaze from Maya and looking at me for a second. "Brian and I have band together with Miss. Oh. I'm so excited. Junior band is supposed to be sooo good." She says, breaking her gaze and looking off into space. "Who's the chorus teacher?" I ask, looking at Cam. "Uh... Rob Goldman." He says, looking down at his schedule. "No way." Brian and I say in unison. "What?" Cam asks. "He was the band and chorus teacher at our old school. He's one of the best." Brian says. "I heard he's teaching Junior band with Ms. Oh this year." Maya says, a gentle smile on her face. The first bell rings. We have a half hour till school really starts. Maya takes me to all of the classes I don't have with her (Spanish, Chorus, and English.)

Once we're done I go back to my locker to grab the stuff I need. No sign of the ice hounds. Then Maya and I head to our first block, Geometry. Math has always been my worst subject. I really hope I can at least pass in this class. "Oh hey guys." A tall man says as he turns to write something on the board. "I'm Mr. Armstrong." He says, using his hand to showcase that he'd written it on the board. "Since you two got here first, you get to pick from the mound of text books. You won't get the coffee-stained ripped-page marked up books." He says grinning, picking up his attendance list. "Just fill that form in there, with your name and book number." He says, pointing into space while still staring at his list. Once we pick our books we find two seats in the middle. Close enough to see, while not being too eager, sitting in the front row. People who sit in the front row are known to be shyer but when they do talk, they say some of the funniest things. Some of my best friends are strictly front row sitters.

The bell rings once more, and people file into the room. They all stare at me. Mr. Armstrong clears his throat and class begins. "Good morning guys and welcome to your first day of Geometry. Trust me, it's awful. Personally, I'm an algebra kinda guy, but I'm in Geo this year due to budget cuts. And, we have a new student among us." He says looking down at his attendance list. "Miss. Geehola Carlo." "It's Gioia. Like J-O-Y-A." I correct him. "Ahh yes." He says, scribbling down the phonetic spelling to make his life easier. "I hear you moved here from Massachusetts. That's quite a long distance." "Over 600 miles or uh 883 kilometers." I say, converting it out on paper. "Such a big move." He says. "Anyway, welcome to Canada." He says with a smile. "Happy to be here." I say smiling, pulling out a sheet of paper as we begin taking notes.

**Pretty good chapter in my opinion. What did you guys think? Do you want more Becky? Less Becky hahaha?**


	23. Make Them Hear You

**Chapter 23: "Make Them Hear You"**

My first three blocks went normally, as far as first days go. I sat in class with Maya, took some notes, got a textbook, and moved to the next class. But now it was time for chorus.

At WHS, our chorus room was huge and we fit a drum set and two pianos in it, even if one was an upright, it was still impressive. This chorus room has one grand piano and 45 seats. Goldman's organizing music. I walk up to him. "Hi ." "Hello." He says, not looking from his music. "Funny that we're both here huh?" I ask. With a look of confusion on his face he looks up. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Gioia? What are you doing here?" "Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?" People begin filing into the room and sitting down. "Wow, this is crazy. Well now I can choose some crazy high soprano stuff seeing as you're here." "Hahaha. What's the first day song this year?" I ask. Every year Mr. Goldman picks a song that the kids did last year to start off a new year. Last year was "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables. Goldman was ahead of the curb when it came to Les Mis. "I wasn't going to do one actually. But, since you're here. Would you be up to an open mic of 'Ragtime'?" He asks. We'd sung a medley of Ragtime music for our winter concert. It was a show stopper. "Wow, that sounds awesome!" I say. "I just need to look over the music for a second." "No problem." Goldman says, digging through his piles and handing me a copy. "Brian Bierl's here too." I say while flipping through the 26 pages of music. "No way! Band is gonna be awesome." He says grinning. All but one seat was now filled, mine. I'd decided to stay down to make it easier to perform later. Mr. Goldman cleared his throat and started class. "GOOD MORNING!" He said over their chatter. The room became silent. "My name is Rob Goldman and for the next 180 days, I will be guiding you in a choral journey." Oh Goldman. "Now. I'm new here and usually, I start the year off by having the old chorus students sing something they sang last year to the Freshman and new students. However, I thought I couldn't do that. But, it just so happens that a new student here was in my chorus last year. Gioia Carlo come on over here." He says applauding as I walk over to the piano. The other students join in. I spot Cam among the tenors. "Now, Gioia is a high soprano and she's got quite a range. She'll be singing a song we did in the winter concert last year. A medley from the songs of the musical Ragtime. Enjoy." He says, grabbing the sheet music and sitting at the piano, beginning to play. There is nothing more satisfying and scary than performing in front of a crowd. But it feels so much better when you don't know them. "The. Skies. Were. Blue. And. Hay. zee. Rarely a storm, barely a chill. La la la la la." I begin. There's no need for a mic seeing as the room is so small. Once I finish people begin to clap. As I take my seat, Mr. Goldman begins talking about voice placement beginning tomorrow and the songs he's looking at for this year. The bell rings and we move to lunch. I wait for Cam. "I didn't know you could sing like that!" He says as he grabs his bag and we walk down the hall to the cafe. "Thanks. I was kinda nervous. I'm better on a stage: when the crowd is huge and the lights are blinding." "Hahahaha. I know the feeling." He says, sitting down at the lunch table in the back corner. Maya and Brian are both in study and have 2nd lunch. Tori and Tris are in French which has 3rd lunch. So its just Cam and I today. "So, were the concerts really that good?" He asks, opening his backpack and taking out a brown paper bag. He pulls out a sandwich and starts eating. I pull out my phone and pull up a video. "Here, see for yourself." I say, handing him my phone and grabbing my lunch from my bag. Maya packed me chicken noodle soup, oyster crackers, a juice box, and a granny smith apple. She's so mother-like.

As Cam watches the video I open my thermos and take out a spoon. He was watching us perform in the 1st spring concert. We'd done "The Phantom of the Opera" medley, "Beyond the Sea", and "Sound of Silence." Cam had just gotten to the part where one of the girls in our chorus, Leanne, sang a solo in "All I ask of You". His jaw dropped. "Yeah Leanne's really good. She's trained in an opera style so her range is amazing and she's powerful. There have been many shows in which we had to turn her mic off, because you felt like she was singing next to you without it. If you like that you should have seen our a capella group. They were so amazing." I say, taking a spoonful of soup and cooling it down. "Wow, and Goldman helped train her?" "Oh yeah. They've worked together since she was seven." "Wow." He says, taking a bite out of his sandwich and handing me back my phone. The bell rings and we head to English with Ms. Dawes.

"Good afternoon class. My name is Ms. Dawes and I'm here to teach you all about the power of words." She turns to the board and writes down 6 words: melancholy, bitter, anguish, puncture, disarming, and tranquil. "Now, when you see... Melancholy. What do you think?" She asks, pointing to the word on the board. I raise my hand. "Yes, you." She says pointing my way. "Well, melancholy is almost a mix of emotions. I see people gathered at a wake, talking about good things about the person who had died. Granted, they're dead, but the people aren't mourning, they're reliving and remembering the good things." I say to her. "Good. What's your name?" She asks, grabbing her list. "Gioia. Gioia Carlo." I say. "Ahh yes. You're other teachers say you weren't very talkative in class." "The subjects were boring and there was only one answer. I found this interesting, my opinion is never wrong." "Interesting Ms. Carlo. This year should be fun." She says smiling and putting down her list. She turns to the board and continues the discussion. I flip open my notebook and start writing. Not anything in particular, just writing. Ms. Dawes walks by my desk and picks up the notebook. She reads a few pages while still addressing the class. "Excellent work." She whispers handing the journal back. "Now, seeing that reminded me. You have a homework assignment." The room groans. "No no no. This is fun." She says grabbing a stack of notebooks. They were all decorated. "Now, each of you will get a journal belonging to one of my former students. You'll be working on the same assignment later. But tonight, your job is to read and find the best passage. We'll share tomorrow." The bell rings and school is over. "Ms. Carlo, please stay a minute." I walk over to her desk and she looks at me over her glasses. "I see a lot of myself in you. I want you to keep being you. In my class, there are never wrong answers, and I want you to keep writing. I'll serve as an editor for any of the work you need help with." She says smiling and getting back to her work. "See you tomorrow Gioia." "Thank you Ms. Dawes. Good bye." I say, turning to face Cam and walking with him to our lockers.

"So, how was the first day?" I ask Brian as he and Maya saunter down the hallway. "Amazing. This girl over here has amazing cello skills and she got the first Goldman complement slash call out of the year." He says smiling and squeezing her shoulder approvingly. Goldman stops a number in practice when something's going really well. So, to be called out is one of the greatest honors Goldman bestows. Leanne was the only one in chorus to ever get one. "That's amazing!" I say hugging her. "Its no big deal." She says shrugging. "Its a huge deal." I say, grabbing my backpack and shutting my locker, following them out to the parking lot. Cam and Brian decided to wait with us until Mr. Matlin came to drive us home. "I like it here." I say as we sit on the curb and put our bags down. "When midterms start, you aren't gonna like it as much." Cam says smiling. "So how was everyone elses day?" I ask. "Well, my day went well. I just am not too excited for history, I never really liked it." Cam says, stretching his legs out. "My day went amazingly! I'm in love with Mr. Goldman. Cam, I may just leave you for him. He's got such talent and is so encouraging." Maya says hugging her cello close. "My day was great. I mean, I miss people back home, but its so much better here. Its only the first day, and I feel so good about it." Brian says, slinging a protective arm around me and yawning. "But school takes a lot outta ya." He says smiling as Mr. Matlin pulls up. "Bye guys. I'll text you later and see you tomorrow." I say kissing Brian briefly and giving Cam a friendly hug. "Bye." They say in unison. "Oh and one more thing." I say before stepping into the car. "Go Panthers!" I shout, throwing my fist in the air. Other people in the parking lot repeat the phrase. "Christ, it's like a mating call." I say, buckling in the back seat and waving to the boys as we make our way back to the Matlin house.

**Hope this was at least okay. And to the guest reviewer, thanks! And I have some things from Cam's POV coming up, I'll try to work in Maya's too. **


	24. To Whom it May Concern

**Chapter 24: "To Whom it May Concern"**

We sat in Maya's room, doing homework (book covering) till four. Then I went to my room to rest and read the journal Ms. Dawes gave me. The outside cover was plastered with a mixture of band names and pictures of famous musicians. The inside cover had a note written in it. "To whom it may concern: what you're about to read isn't all that good. I mean I like it, but you might not." And at the bottom it was signed in purple ink in a huge cursive letters: "Talia".

_"9/25/12_

_Okay, so I thought, because this project thing had no restrictions, I'd just write whatever came to mind. But, it kinda sucks when you sit down to write and NOTHING happens. Irritating. Whatever, I have to fill this damn thing." Okay there Talia._

I flip open to a page that she'd bookmarked.

_"5/17/12_

_Twisted_

_I need a break from the hate in my heart,_

_the bitter rage that gnaws on my raw flesh_

_The internal wounds grow_

_No one can know._

_The blade cuts_

_and the blood drops,_

_the pain stops,_

_and life goes on_

_Then the scab peels_

_No blood strays,_

_the wound heals,_

_and the pain stays,_

_the wound seals,_

_and life goes on."_

I don't know when I fell asleep, but Maya was shaking me at 7 to get up, and the journal was still in my hand.

"Good Morning!" She shouts, drawing my curtains open, invited light too bright for my eyes. "Uggh. Morning." I say, schlepping my aching body out of bed and to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.

"I made eggs." Maya says smiling brightly, walking to the fridge and pouring two glasses of orange juice, steadily carrying them to the table. I lay my head on the cool granite counter. "So, school today. You excited?" Maya asks, putting the dirty plates in the dishwasher then sitting down at the table. "Yeah, I guess so. It should be fun." "That's the spirit. Now eat your eggs before they get cold." "All right." I say, walking over to the table and sitting across from Maya. "Five more minutes girls. I have to go to work early this morning." "Okay Daddy." Maya says, taking our now empty plates to the sink. "Maya I can clean up in here if you need to go get ready." "Could you? That would be a great help. Thanks!" She says, quickly kissing the top of my head and disappearing upstairs.

"Buenas tardes classe." "Buenas tardes señora." The class repeats. Not many people take Spanish, so we have a class of mixed grades. I'm one of two sophomores. The other is a boy with shaggy black hair, wearing a Dead Hand t-shirt and jet black jeans. His eyes are a bright green, and he's very quiet. "Bueno. I'm splitting you into teams of two to start on a worksheet. It should be review for most of you. If you don't know something, ask your partner, that's why they're there." She says, walking around and passing out a sheet on reflexive verbs. "Clare and Connor, work in that corner. Adam and Becky, this corner." She says pointing. After a few more minutes there's only a few of us left. "Gioia, move to the back with Mr. Novak. I want you two to work together. Now get started!" She says, motioning to the black haired boy. He catches me looking at him and looks away quickly, hiding his eyes in his hair.

"Hi." I say as I take my bag to where "Mr. Novak" was sitting. He stays silent for a minute, drawing on his paper. "I'm not very good at Spanish." He says, almost inaudibly. "That's okay. I did this last year so I can help you if you'd like." "Thanks." He says, finally looking me in the eyes with a small grin.

We begin silently working. The room however, is filled with noise. "I'm Zig by the way." He says smiling. Where have I heard that name before? "Nice to meet you." I say, going back to my work. "Could you help me with number 4 please?" He asks, looking at me with innocent eyes. "Of course." I say, taking his sheet to read the problem: 'Jose y su amigo _(alegrarse) que...' "Oh this one's very easy, I'll show you." I say, grabbing a piece of scrap paper to write on. "Now, we're using the present subjunctive at the end of the sentence, and the present indicative at the beginning." I say, looking at him as he stares intently. "Now. Jose y su amigo would be in the ellos/ellas/uds. category, so it would end in...?" "an." He says, thinking very hard. "Good! Now, in a reflexive verb we take one of the 6 subject prefixes: me, te, se, nos, os, se. And, seeing as this is an uds. subject the prefix would be...?" "Se?" "Exactly!" I say smiling. "So the complete sentence would be?" "Jose y su amigo se alegran de que blah blah blah." "Muy bien!" I say high fiving him. "See, you are good at Spanish, you just need to be confident." I say, putting my hand on his shoulder approvingly. "Helps when I have a pretty tutor." He says winking. I blush noticeably. I clear my throat before responding, the blush fading, thankfully. "Helps even more when I myself am tutored by my boyfriend." I say a bit too harshly, scooching away from him slightly. Every good thing in my life is shortly followed by an awkward silence.

**Thoughts? Zig and Talia will pop up later on. And Zig will redeem himself in a dramatic situation. Stay tuned Degrassians, this story is just about to get good.**


	25. Fall From Grace

**Chapter 25: Fall From Grace**

"Good morning class. I trust you had an eventful night reading your journals. Now its share time." Ms. Dawes says, wheeling her office chair to the front of the room. "Who would like to start?" She asks looking at us with a wide grin. "Yes, you in the back." She says, pointing to Cam. "Well, uh." He begins, clearing his throat. "My journal is from," he says, flipping to the inside cover, "Eli Goldsworthy. He has written some of the best work I've seen." "Ahhh Eli, he's one of the best writers I've had the pleasure of working with... what passage of his did you want to read for us?" "Well, he has one about a girl that was so beautifully... disturbing." "Hahaha. Sounds like Eli." She says smiling. "Go for it." She says, adjusting her seat and waiting for Cam to start.

_"Her eyes gleaming,_

_her laughing seeming-_

_to fade as time passed._

_The car speeding,_

_leaving-_

_a trail of smoke behind._

_The light blinding,_

_no eyes shining,_

_no heart beating,_

_no pulse reading._

_The laugh lingers,_

_and her fingers,_

_entwined with mine._

_But nothing left unsaid,_

_and all my friends are dead."_

Cam finishes reading, and the room has fallen silent. Ms. Dawes is the first to speak, taking us all from our thoughts. "Well, that was a shocking twist. Kind of makes your stomach drop. Now, Campbell, why did you pick this passage?" She asks, a look of wonder in her eyes. "I guess, because it starts off so elegantly, and ends in a gut wrenching and powerful sentence. The juxtaposition from beginning to end is beautiful. It makes you feel for the author and know that his life is far more complicated than we know." Cam says, staring at his desk and not looking up. "Beautiful Mr. Saunders." She says, grinning widely. "Okay, who's next?"

Zig found me at my locker before lunch. "Hi." He says, looking at the ground. "So, I'm in this band, WhisperHug, and we lost some members. And, I was wondering if you wanted to join?" "Uhhh. I'll think about it." I say smiling, shutting my locker and walking to the cafeteria to meet Maya and Brian for lunch. Cam's working on homework in the library because he wants to practice skating tonight, start training before he's back on the team.

"Over here." Brian calls, motioning for me to sit with him. Maya was hunched over, her nose in a book on music theory. "Hey." I say, scooting into the booth, across from Brian and next to Maya. "Don't even try talking to her. She's in the zone." He says, popping a french fry into his mouth. "Okay. I finished the chapter." She says, setting down the book and opening her lunch box. "Now, what's up with you guys?" She asks, unscrewing the cap to her thermus and grabbing a spoon. "Well this guy from my Spanish class said I should join his band." I say, looking at her for an answer. "Oh please tell me it wasn't Zig." Maya says rolling her eyes. "We kicked him out of the band!" She says angrily, slamming her fist on the table. "M its okay. I won't go if you don't want me to." I say calmly, afraid of Maya's reaction. "It's okay. You don't have anything to hold against him, so do what you think is right. I trust you." She says with a weak smile. "I don't think I'm gonna..." I say, shifting in my seat. "Go. Its a good opportunity." Brian says, grabbing my hands from across the table. "Okay, I'll go. But at the first sign of him acting funny, I'm out." I say looking him in the eyes. Looking for a sign telling me what I should do. "Good. I love you too much to see you in pain again." He says in a serious tone."He is a really good singer though. It might be worth it." Maya says popping an oyster cracker into her mouth and picking up her book again, going back into her voluntary solitary confinement. "Alright. Sounds like a plan." I say as the bell rings, signifying the end of the lunch period.

"Where do you want me?" I ask as I enter the band room, where Zig is sitting alone, reading something on his phone. "Uh, there is fine." He says, locking his phone and putting it in his pocket. "Cool." I say shyly, taking out sheet music and placing it on a nearby stand. "Start whenever you're ready." He says, sitting down in a nearby chair. "Okay." I say taking a deep breath. "Well, I guess I should tell you what I'm singing before I start singing." I say with a brief smile. "Sounds like a plan." He says, picking up a water bottle by his chair and taking a sip. "My name is Gioia Carlo, and I'm going to be singing 'Will I' from the musical Rent." I say smiling once more and pressing play on the acoustic version I'd uploaded to my phone. The song begins playing and I clear my throat before beginning. "Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow, from, this, nightmare?" Zig bolts up immediately, not saying anything and not moving. Then he starts singing. "Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow, from, this, nightmare?" Once the song is over, he's directly in front of me. Silent. "Uh, I should go." I say, quickly grabbing my bag. "No, wait." Zig says, running in front of me. I stop. "That... song. That song has been the only thing getting me through the year. I fucked up a lot last year, and I'd play that song whenever I needed to cry. I pissed off a lot of people. I could really use a friend right now." He says, handing me my sheet music with a faded smile across his face. "But the people you pissed off are my friends." I say, taking the music from him and giving him a sympathetic look. "I'm willing to make amends...if they'll let me." He says sighing. "I can help."

_"I hate Henry... He's a jerk, he never listens to me and he was with her again. You know, that perky blonde with freckles. Yeah, she thinks she's god's gift. Sad thing is, those are the people that fall the hardest. Her sister's a bitch too. But I don't blame her, lot of bad shit's gone down in her life, and it's not her fault. I shouldn't judge her. But Henry and I, we're friends first and... whatever we are second. I mean, I don't love Henry, especially after what he did... But I miss having him around, ya know? Now he's just a familiar face in the hallway, judging me to no end. I can't forgive that. I mean, I'm not completely in the right, but I'm not completely wrong, right? He took her to prom. And I was fine with it. She'd just broken up with her boyfriend and well... It was sweet. I just wish it had been me..."_

I woke up to a text from Zig.

**Zig: I want to see you. Meet me outside in 10.**

I hop out of bed and throw on a sweatshirt. Walking downstairs.

**Zig: I'm outside**

I walk out the front door. The Matlin's wouldn't care if I left for a minute, right? I step outside. He's at the edge of the driveway, staring at me. I walk down the path to meet him. "What?" I ask, as he stands motionless; speechless. "Sneaking out are you?" He asks playfully, walking toward me. "Oh yeah, I'm rebellious." I say, walking closer. "So, is she coming out with you?" He asks, looking at the door behind me. "What?" "Maya, is she coming out too?" "No. Why?" "Because I texted her... I need to talk to her." "Okay." I say, putting my hand on my elbow. "Are you sure she wants to talk to you right now? I mean... After everything that happened?" "I've gotta start somewhere right?" He says, laughing lightly, kicking up dirt with his shoe and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Maya walked out of the house and joined us in the driveway. "Hi." She says, looking at him uncomfortably. "Can we talk?" He asks, trying to take her hand. "Speak." She says, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. "I want you back- as a friend. I miss hanging out with you guys. I promise, there will be zero weirdness from my end if you just give me a chance." He pleads, looking at her sincerely, hoping for forgiveness. "Fine. Sit with us at lunch tomorrow." She says simply, turning and walking back into the house, not daring to give him the satisfaction of looking back. I quickly follow behind. "Bye Zig." I say quietly with a quick wave before reentering the house and walking upstairs.

"Why does he want forgiveness?" I ask, flopping on Maya's bed and hugging a stuffed animal to my chest. "Well. Remember when I told you we kissed? Okay, so he got a lot of crap from Cam about it when he found out, and then Tori and by default Tristen. All his friends were against him and it didn't look good. He hurt all of us and we weren't willing to help him. I guess we all needed some time to cool off." She says, brushing her hair quickly and sitting next to me on her bed. "Hey. You gonna be okay?" I ask with a look of concern on my face, putting the stuffed animal down and sitting up. "Yeah. I just need to get some sleep. See you tomorrow." She says, walking me to the door and yawning. "Okay. And wake me if you need anything." I say taking her hands into mine and looking at her, though she avoids my glare. "Alright. Good night." "Good night." I say, closing her door gently and walking into my room.

I lie in bed, thoughts racing through my mind. Zig. How do I feel about Zig? I know there aren't exactly warm and fuzzy feelings between Cam, Maya and Zig,but Zig seems nice. Granted, he pissed off a lot of people but, everyone deserves a second chance... Right?

"Do you have a talent you want to show off? Today's the day Degrassi! Your student council President and Vice President are holding the first school sanctioned event: open mic night! Last year it was a big success and I'm hoping for the same results this year. Sign up sheets are in the band room. The deadline is next Wednesday." Jenna says over the video announcements. "Hope to see you all there!" The camera changes and Becky's on screen. "Thanks Jenna, and now to my brother, Luke Baker, for the sports update." Becky says, with as much pep as ever. I tune out after that, everyone does. My home room is always quiet, mainly people finishing homework or reading. I think Madam Jean-Aux likes it better that way. I only know a few people: Maya, Tristen, and Damon. The rest of the kids look just like the ones back home, but happier. Kids back home were always stressed. There was too much pressure. The bell rings and Maya and I head to Armstrong's room for math.

"Alright today we'll be working on circumference and area. Thrilling I know." He says, emotionless. "Take out your calculators and a pencil please." He says in the same tone, turning to the board and writing down formulas. There's a knock on the door and Armstrong rushes to get it, desperate to get away from Geometry. Dave Turner steps in. He whispers something to the teacher, then walks to the front of the classroom. "Hello everyone, my name is Dave Turner. Now, as some of you may know, I played Romeo in last years production of Romeo and Jules. Well, Becky Baker has sent me on a mission. Clare, with help from Adam and myself, will be directing this year's show. We've chosen to do a series of one act plays and we need people. Auditions in the auditorium at 2:25 after school. If you're interested, take a flyer and pick a scene. They were written by former student Eli Goldsworthy so you know its gonna be good. And- wait a minute... its mystery girl!" He says, interrupting his speech and looking right at me. I can feel eyes on me. "Ahhh we go way back." He says, leaning against Armstrong's desk. "Anyway, flyers are in the office, see you all there. Bye mystery girl." He says winking and walking out of the room whistling an unfamiliar tune, his hands in his pockets, locking the door on his way out.

No one pays attention for the rest of class. They're either staring at me or talking about the play. Armstrong doesn't seem to care though, as he opens a bag of ketchup chips and sitting back in his chair. Where else can you find teacher like these?

After history, lunch begins. An infamous lunch? Let's hope not.

"Hi." Zig says, walking over to our table, brown paper bag in hand. "Can I sit?" He asks sheepishly. "Yeah." Maya says meekly, scooching in closer to Brian. Cam's next to me. Everyone but Brian has an awkward look on their face. I kinda forgot to update him on the whole Zig thing. "Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Brian." He says, extending his arm out to Zig, who awkwardly took it and shook it. "Me llamo Zig." He replies in a thick Spanish accent. "¿Tú hablas español? Pronunciación de muy buena." Brain says back. After a brief silence Brian speaks again."¿Me entiendes?" "What?" "Never mind." He says sighing, sitting back in his seat. "So, you're here to make amends correct?" Maya asks in a serious tone, glaring at him over her glasses. "I guess, if that's what the kids are calling it these days." He says, chuckling to himself. "Look. I haven't really been a good friend-" "Emmm ehhhem." Cam clears his throat and gives Zig a withering stare. "Fine. I've been an ass okay? I just want to go back to what we had before the pageant. And I want to be in WhisperHug again. Music is my life and I'm going crazy without it. Now, please... Can we forgive and forget?" He asks, nearly in tears. "I can forgive, I just can't forget." Cam says calmly, packing his bag and leaving the table. Maya is silent in thought. "Please. Say something." He says, looking to Maya for an answer. She avoids his eyes and stares at the table, just breathing silently. Zig starts getting up to leave. "Wait." Maya says quietly. "Zig. I want to be friends with you, really I do, but I don't want to upset anyone. I'm finally in a good place Zig, I don't wanna ruin all that I have. But, WhisperHug will always have a home for you." She says with a weak smile, meeting his gaze. "About now, I'll take what I can get." He says laughing yet again to himself, packing his bag and leaving the cafe.

LONG! Yay! I hope you all like this one, next chapter (which will be a two parter) we'll learn what Zig's motives really are. Review please! And have a good weekend Degrassians.


	26. Anything Could Happen (Part 1)

**Chapter 26: Anything Could Happen (Part 1)**

"Hello, my name is Gioia Carlo, and I'll be reading for the part of Christi." I say, stepping onto the degrassi stage in front of a panel of students. "Alright. Give it all ya got mystery girl." Dave says, leaning back in his chair. "I LOVED you okay? And you ripped my HEART out! I gave you everything... but you can't even be bothered to look at me. That's great... that's just great. You know, when I met you, you didn't seem like an insensitive ass. But I guess we all change. (Laughing to self) And to think we dated for eight years. EIGHT FUCKING YEARS! Now what am I supposed to do? Buy a CAT-" "Stop. That was great. Expect to see your name on that list." A girl with curly light brown hair says smiling. "Eli would be proud." She says with a sigh. "Next please." She says, flipping a sheet as I walk down from the stage. I walk over to my bag and stash my water bottle in it, the next person begins.

"Hi, I'm Zig Novak and I would like to read for the part of Christi's boyfriend, Sam." Zig says, clearing his throat. I turn to face the stage and he winks at me. "It's not you Christi... it's me." He says with sincerity. "Oh, as if I haven't heard that one before. There's someone else... isn't there?" Dave says back, reading Christi's lines. "No... no, that's not it." Zig says sadly, looking down. "Then what. Why?" Dave asks angrily. "Because... I love you too much for you to get hurt. I'm not good for you. Haven't you heard, I'm crazy!" He says with nervous laughter. "We can't be together. I could go into one of my manic episodes and mess your life up again. Is that really what you want?" He says in a tone just above a whisper. "Excellent read... NEXT!" Dave calls, smiling to himself.

Zig steps off stage and toward me smiling. "Whataya think?" He asks, his smile growing. "I never knew you liked the theatre." I say, slining my bag on my back and walking with him to the band room. "I'm full of surprises." He says with a wink, walking through the band room door.

"You said you wanted to be back in WhisperHug right?" Maya says, putting her cello down and folding her arms across her chest. "More than anything." Zig says, walking to a large cabinet and entering a combination, pulling out an electric guitar. "Play." She says glaring at him, leaning against a table. I sit in a nearby chair, observing. "I don't know if you'll forgive me for being so blind to how you felt." He picks up the tempo on his guitar. "Don't ask me why I couldn't see it, that might take me years to figure out. And that's not something I know much about, but there's only one way to find out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What I know is that I hurt you, oh. What I know is that I suck and what I know is that I'm sorry. What I know is that I'm a loser to you-" "Stop. You're in." She says with her lips pursed into a thin smile. Zig grins widely and puts the guitar away. "But- you have to find us a manager." Maya says, biting into an apple she'd had on the table next to her and walking out of the room.

"Any luck yet?" I ask Zig as we sit down in spanish the next morning. "Nope. Not a one." He says, taking out a textbook and yesterday's homework. "Chin up. I know you can." I say reassuringly, patting his back. "Thanks." He says with a weak smile. "No problem. I know you can do this." I say as Ms. Singleton starts class. "Today I'm assigning a group project okay clase! Jake! You need a group. Any volunteers?" She asks, talking to a boy I've never seen before. "Raise your hand." I mutter to Zig. "Why?" He whispers back. "Because, for all we know he could be your next manager okay? Do it!" I say under my breath. "Fine. If it'll make you happy." He winks, raising his hand. "Gracias." Ms. Singleton says, motioning for Jake to sit with us. "Hi. I'm Jake." "I'm Gioia and this is Zig." I say, gesturing to zig who gave a slight wave. "Now. Each of you will get a Spanish speaking country to do a report on. I want a 3 page paper. This will be an oral report and I want 6 questions at the end in Spanish. You have till next wednesday. For the remainder of class you will look in your textbooks for information. I'll come around to assign countries. Now get to work." She says, clapping her hands together, dismissing us.

"So. What brings you hear Jake?" I ask, turning to him. He has shaggy fiery red hair and piercing green eyes. "I'm here for my sister. She's an Ice Hound." "Wow! That's so awesome that they put her on the team." I say, a little stunned. "Shouldn't they have a girls team?" Zig asks curiously. "Not enough interest... Can we talk about something else now?" He asks uncomfortably. "Your group will have Ecuador." Ms. Singleton says, handing us a packet on Ecuadorian culture. She glares at us for a second, then moves on. "Any of you know about Ecuador?" I ask, flipping through the packet quickly. "Not a thing." Zig says, leaning back in his chair and playing with his pen. "I do. My grandparents lived in Ecuador for 10 years. I'm sure I can get some info from them." Jake says, looking at us both with a blank expression. "Sounds like a plan. I'll take notes tonight and see what I can find. We can go to the Library after school tomorrow for more research." I say, packing my bag when the bell rang. Time for English.

"Good morning writers and readers. How have you all been this fine day?" Ms. Dawes asks, walking into the room after the bell rang, crossing to her desk and putting down a stack of papers. "Today we'll be starting a book I hope inspires you all to keep working on your journals. Now, it's told by the point of view of a Freshman, but it's a good story nonetheless." She says smiling and walking over to a crate full of books. "It's called Speak. And its been one of my favorite books for quite some time. Read the first chapter tonight. But, trust me, if you're anything like me, you won't be able to put it down." She says, beginning to pass out the books. "And take out your journals. I want to see how the decorating is coming along." She says smiling, walking over to her desk and picking up her coffee mug. She walks over to the whiteboard and begins writing with a red pen. She writes only one word: individualization. "Now. I'm sure you all know what this word means. I want you to partner up and exchange journals, then write a one to two paragraph analysis of what you think their journal says about them. Pick your own partners, I trust you." She says with a wink, sitting in her desk chair and sipping her coffee, typing away at her keyboard. I take a seat next to Cam. He hands me his journal, plastered with pictures of his family, Maya, and his friends from Kapuskasing. I hand him my journal, covered in pictures of my favorite musicians, pictures of my friends and family, and words cut out from magazines like eccentric and effervescent. "Is that your sister?" I ask, pointing to a picture of an older girl giving a younger Cam a bearhug from behind. They look so happy and innocent. "Yeah, that's Isabella, but we call her Is. That's your brother?" He asks, pointing to a picture of Danielle, Chris and I at the aquarium. "Oh no. I know we look alike but that's just my friend's brother. His birthday's a day after my brothers and yet he still seems to be the mature one." "Hahaha I know how that goes. My brother Justin and I used to skate at the pond, and he'd always wind up falling on his face with a huge bruise, even though he's 10 years older he'd say it was because he was protecting me. I swear I'm the only sane one in the family." He says laughing and pointing out a picture of the two smiling at the pond, skating on the ice, hockey sticks in hand. "Alright class. Start writing, but please be quiet and mindful of other people working. If you're going to talk, please whisper." She says, not taking her eyes off of her computer screen.

"Those are my brothers." I say, pointing to a picture of all of us sitting on the stairs at my grandparents house. "You have three brothers?" "Yup. Three brothers and one sister. But they're all a lot older than me. My oldest brother and I are 15 years apart." I whisper, smiling to myself. "Wow. That's crazy! Are you two close?" "We're pretty close, but my sister and I are closer. I mean, sure we get in fights... a lot of fights, but we're family ya know?" "I hear ya. I'm closest with Is. She and I have been through alot of shit in the past couple of years but she's always by my side when I need her." "Cam, Gioia, please quiet down over there." "Yes Miss. Dawes." I say, pulling out my notebook and beginning to write. The bell rings. "Before you go class. We will be sharing your insights into your partners work tomorrow, so come prepared!"

**Cam's POV**

So, I was on my way to Chorus when I saw her. The newest Ice Hound. Luke had cornered her and she was clearly uncomfortable. I rushed over to the bank of lockers they were at. "Excuse me. Is he bothering you." I ask, looking at her distraught face. She swiftly grabbed onto Luke's arm, which was leaning against the locker, and ducked under it. "I can fight my own battles thanks." She says, tightening her ponytail and walking away, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Luke glared at me and walked away.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Goldman." I say, grabbing my music folder from the piano and working my way through the sea of tennors to my usual spot. "Not a problem. I was just about to start warm ups." He says with a smile, examining my late pass and sitting down at the piano. As we began singing I noticed something odd. Gigi wasn't here. I looked all around the room just in case I'd overlooked her or she changed seats. Nope, she was nowhere to be found. I kept singing though, and besides, lunch block was next, I could look for her then. "Okay class, I'd like you to meet a new student of ours, please give a big DCS chorus welcome to Jake Sevransky." Mr. Goldman says, initiating the clapping as the boy he mentioned sinks lower in his seat. "How do you like it at Degrassi Jake?" Goldman asks smiling. "Beats homeschooling." He says sighing. "High praise." Goldman jokes, flipping through his music binder. "Okay. So today, instead of a warm up, I was thinking we could show Jake what we're all about and sing him a song we've been working on. Take out Beyond The Sea." He says, flipping through pages of his binder rapidly and smiling once he'd found the one he was looking for. "Okay girls, give it all ya got." He says smiling and beginning the intro.

After chorus I rushed to her locker. Not a sign of her. Probably already in the cafe. I thought to myself, jogging to the cafe and walking to our regular table. Still no sign. "Brian, where's Gigi?" I ask, concern growing in my voice. "Sit down. We need to talk."

**I don't know about you all, but I love this chapter. All will be revealed next chapter, which is written but needs to be edited. Review please and have a good rest of your day. Monday tomorrow :( oh well. I hope to have the next chapter up tomorrow night. Till next time degrassians**


	27. Anything Could Happen (Part 2)

**Chapter 27: Anything Could Happen (Part 2)**

**Cam's POV**

"Wh- what's wrong?" I ask, struggling to get the words out. "She's in the hospital-" "What do you mean? What's wrong?" I interrupt. "I mean, she's in the hospital-" "Why aren't you with her?" "CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE!?" Brian explodes, jumping from his seat. Heads start turning. Maya sits him down and takes his hand in comfort. Maya turns to me and begins talking. "Well, we were at my locker when we heard someone screaming for help. We ran over when we heard a loud scream and saw Zig and some guy in a fight. Then Zig ducked and the guy hit her square in the jaw. That's when the crowd formed. She hit him back so he hip checked her and she fell, down the catwalk. We ran down the stairs, pushing people to get out of the way, and we saw her. Her whole body was covered in bruises and her leg was twisted. We got Simpson and he called 911. When she finally came to, she was screaming in agony. Simpson wouldn't let us go with her." She says looking down. "It's my fault." Brian says looking up. "I should have been in front of her." He says, tears in his already bloodshot eyes. "Its not your fault. She's tough, she'll pull through." Maya says, some anger in her voice. "Oh my god. Oh my god." I say, my hand flying to my mouth and muffling my words. "Is she okay?" I ask, my voice trembling. "We don't know." Maya says frowning, giving Brian's hand a squeeze for reassurance. "I can't believe we have to go to school today." Brian says, pushing his food away and leaning back in his seat. "I hate not knowing. I just want her home." He says, trying to fight the tears. "Come on." I say, grabbing my bag and motioning for the others to get up. "We can't sit around like this all day. Come on, we're going to see her." I say, walking out of the cafe with the others trailing closely behind. Without so much as a glance back we walk out the door and to the parking lot, into my car and down the street, to the hospital.

We walk together to reception and talk to the women at the front desk. "Is Gioia Carlo here?" Maya asks, still holding Brian's hand. "One moment please." She says, walking to a filing cabinet and searching. "Ma'am please hurry." Maya says, getting impatient. "I'll just be a moment." "Have you ever seen Terms of Endearment?" Maya asks, the woman nods. "Well Shirley MacLaine used me as inspiration... And she toned it down. And if you don't find that damn file, there may just be a reenactment." Maya says with a mixture of pure rage and sadness. The nurse narrows her eyes at Maya. "Room 145A. But she just got out of surgery so she'll be tired." "Does it look like I give a damn?" Maya asks, marching to the room.

When we enter her room we all gasp. She's hooked up to 5 machines that are all beeping and spitting out sheets of information. Her head has a bandage wrapped around it and her left leg is in a cast. She has a back brace on too and she's covered in bruises. We're all speechless as we sit at her bedside. She's sleeping, smiling through her oxygen mask. "Gee. I don't know if you can hear me, but I love you so much and I am so sorry. I know you can pull through this. You're strong." Brian says, taking her hand and stroking it. As if she can hear him, her smile grows. A doctor comes in the room. "Is she going to be okay?" Maya asks jumping to her feet, twiddling her thumbs and looking at her with innocence. "Well, she fractured 2 ribs, broke her leg and dislocated her shoulder, but she should be alright. We're keeping her a few nights for observation." She says, reading the information from all the beeping machines and marking it on a chart. Our group shares a collective sigh of relief and Maya sits. "She should be waking up soon too?" The doctor says, checking her watch. "The anesthetic should be wearing of any time now." She says smiling and leaving the room.

Gigi's eyes flutter open. "Hey guys!" She says, trying to sit up. "N-n-n-no. Don't sit up." Brian says, helping her lie back down and take her oxygen mask off. "Okay. Ow... Ow. Why does everything hurt?" She asks, yawning and staring back at us. "Well, you took a serious beating from some prick." Brian says, moving hair from her forehead and stroking his thumb against the back of her hand. "Okay. When will it stop hurting." She asks, frowning slightly. "That I can't tell you Gee, but I do know you'll be okay. We'll make sure of it." He says, staring into her brown eyes. "Can I sleep now?" She asks, looking to us for approval. "You can do whatever you want." Brian says smirking. "Okay." She says, closing her eyes and yawning once more. "We'll be right here when you wake up." He says, though she's already asleep, snoring lightly.

"Royal flush, I WIN!" Maya says, laying her cards down to show us. It was 6 o'clock. We'd already called everyone, including Gigi's family as well as Tori and Tristen. She was still asleep, but people from school were coming by to check on her. Now we were playing poker. Maya was killing us though. "Ugh. We need a new game." I say, handing her my cards as she reshuffles. We hear a meek voice come from the other side of the room. "Hey." Gee says, turning toward us, rubbing her eyes. We all rush to her bedside. "Hey Gee. How ya feelin'?" I ask, looking at her with a weak smile. "I've been better." She says with a slight laugh, looking at her broken leg. "Can we just ask... what happened?" Maya says, looking at her with a gentle smile. "Well, I was walking from English to Chorus when I remembered I left my folder in my locker. So I rushed down the hall and entered my combo, grabbing my folder and shutting my locker. Then I ran to where Zig and some dude were fighting. I don't know what happened really, but it ended with me on my back." I say looking away. "That's what she said." Cam says, trying to fight off laughter. "Not the time babe." Maya says, patting his back comfortingly. Brian sat silently, anger fuming in his eyes. "But who was it?" Maya asks again, still unclear. "Well, I'm not sure, but as I was falling I did hear him say, 'that's for Gabe'." Our jaws drop. "That heartless, sadistic, asshole." Brian says, clenching his hands into fists, pacing the green tile. "Oh my god." Maya and I said in unison. "Visiting hours are over Ms. MacLain." The cranky nurse says, putting her hands on Maya's shoulders as she 'calmly' said her goodbyes and began to walk out with us, barely keeping it together.

*****_That Night_*******

**My POV**

I sit in my room, checking the clock: 11:18. I can't sleep. I count the ceiling tiles. 12 across, 3 down, all stark white. I haven't had the problem of not being about to sleep for years. My 3rd grade teacher used to tell me to do long division in my head to put me to sleep. Worth a shot I guess.

"Good MORNING!" Maya shouts, trying to shake me awake. "My, just 5 more minutes." I say, taking a pillow to shield my eyes. "No no no. Now, you're french toast will get cold." She says, taking the pillow from my eyes and stashing it beyond the door. "Ms. Carlo, you need to get up now." I hear a voice say, my eyes open and I see that I'm not in the Matlin house, but still in the hospital. "You have visitors."

I sit up as Zig walks in the room with Damon. "Hey guys." I say smiling as they sit by my bed. "Woah, they really did a number on you." Zig says, looking me over. "Guess I don't put up much of a fight." I say, looking away. "Are you kidding? You were getting away from him and just as he pushed you, you kicked his shin and spat in his face. It was priceless." Damon says smiling. "Dude, not the time." Zig says putting a hand on his shoulder. "But, who was the dude that did it? We didn't recognize him." Damon says, concern growing on his face. "Well, let's just say he's a guy from my past that's coming back to haunt me. He was the reason we moved in the first place." I say, looking into Zig's eyes and frowning. "Wow. Sucks." Damon says, looking down. "Dude, you really suck at this." Zig says smirking. "Okay, lunch hour is over in like 10, so we gotta get back to school. Get well Gee." Zig says, standing up and putting flowers by my bed, kissing my forehead. "Spanish isn't the same without you." Zig says, entwining our fingers, then quickly separating, trying to hide a noticeable blush. "Wait, Zig." I say as he turns toward me. "Yeah?" "Why were you fighting him?" Zig looks up and sighs. "Well, he kept asking me where you were and I said I didn't know. Then he said you were probably off... I don't wanna finish that sentence." Zig said uncomfortably. "Let's just say it was grotesque." Damon says smiling uncomfortably. "So you hit him?" "Well, yeah. We're friends." "Wow... Thanks Zig." I say sitting up and kissing his cheek. His blush comes back. "Come on Zig, we have to go now. Bye." Damon says with a quick wave, taking Zig out with him.

Visiting hours are almost over. Cam had to go to school so he wouldn't miss his first practice back, but Maya and Bry spent the day with me. We were playing go fish when we heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" Maya says, her back to the door. "Well well well." A voice says, creeping into the room. "He really did a number." The male voice says. We turn to look. "What are you doing here cretin?" Brian asks, turning to the familiar voice. "Well. I was just gonna stop by and talk to my favorite street walker." Gabe says, walking toward my bed. "You've seen better days." He says smirking at the foot of my bed. "Is that all you're gonna say?" I shout at him, narrowing my eyes. "Review the tape." Gabe says throwing his phone at me. I hit play.

Zig's face is covered in blood and you can see the three of us in the background. "Is that all you got?" The random due asks Zig. "Oh please." Zig says, wiping blood from his mouth and circling around the random. Then as Zig ducks and we aren't paying a lot of attention, I get hit. Then I kick him in the shin and he grabs me by my shoulders and pushing me away, not realizing how close we were to the catwalk, then I go over and spit in his face as I go over. Then I land with a thud.

I throw the phone back at him. He easily catches it. "It'll stand up in court, even if you can't." He says chuckling. "Seriously? I mean, I knew you were stupid, but seriously? This has gone too far." Maya says, getting up from her seat and into his face. "Well who's this little thing?" He says, trying to wrap his arms around her. "Oh please," She says, quickly getting away from his grasp easily. "You hurt her, again. Was the black eye really what you wanted last time?" Bry asks, getting up from his seat, anger smouldering in his eyes. "Who was it?" I ask as Gabe turns to leave, scoffing at Brian. "Who did it?" "I can't believe you didn't recognize him. I'll have to let him know... It was Greg. He seems to remember you." He says winking and walking out of the room.

"No use hurting him." I say trying to stop Brian from chasing after him. "He's like a punching bag, if you move too quickly, when you're not looking, he'll come back with full force." I say, signaling for Maya to sit him down. "Wait... who's Greg?" Maya asks, looking at us with concern. "Well, he used to go to school with us. Biggest druggie there was. And he'll do anything to get his next fix. Gabe must have hired him." Brian says, his eyes fixated on the floor, refusing to look up. "You guys have crazier drama than I do. I didn't think that was possible." Maya says, trying to lighten the mood. "Hahahaha. You don't know the half of it M." I say shaking my head and smiling. "Okay. Time to go kido, the weird nurse out there is giving us the evil eye." Maya's Dad says, entering the room with Mrs. Matlin close behind. "Get well Gioia. We'll get the prick that did this to you." Mr. Matlin says with confidence. "Bye Gigi." Maya says with a quick hug. "Love you Gee. Stay strong." Bry says kissing my forehead. "Love you too B. See you tomorrow." I say smiling as they close the door and wave. As I looked up to the white tile ceiling, I couldn't help but think of how Gabe knew where we were...

**Not too shabby right? Review please! I need ideas too. Running low on that front or any other for that matter. Have a good day Degrassians!**


	28. Christine, You Must Have Been Dreaming

**Chapter 28: "Christine, you must have been dreaming..."**

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"Morning!" Tristan says as he leads the group into my room. "Hey guys." I whisper, sitting up and stretching my arms above my head. "We brought scones!" Tori says, shaking a tin, walking over with the clicking of her heels. "Made by Mama Milligan herself." Cam boasts, walking with Maya, hand in hand. "How ya feelin?" Brian asks, walking to my bedside and taking my hand in his. "Better. I don't feel like roadkill anymore." I say smirking. "Scone?" Tristan asks, popping open the container and holding it out to me. "Sure." I say, grabbing the biggest one. "So, any news?" I ask, putting my scone down on the tray table and wiping the crumbs from my hands. "Well, people at school are talking..." "Oh, and what are they saying?" I ask Cam. "Well, they think you're a legend, a total badass." He says with a devilish grin. "My girlfriend the badass... I don't know if I can get used to that." Brian says laughing. "No way." I say with a mixture of shock and happiness. "Any other dirt or gossip?" I ask, not really asking anyone in particular, though aiming it at Tristan. "Well, since you asked..." Tristan begins, looking at Tori excitedly. "The cast list got posted today... and you're Christi!" Tori says, jumping up and down with excitement. "Babe that's awesome!" Brian says, giving me a hug, careful not to hurt me. "Wow! That's so great!" I say more excited than I've been in months. "Who's playing Sam?" I ask, the room goes silent. "Zig." Tori says, staring at the floor. "Okay. We're friends, that's cool." I say, toning down my excitement due to their reactions. "Zig has been nothing but good to me." I point out, crossing my arms over my chest. "We get that. Really, we do, but we don't want to see you befriend him for the wrong reasons." Tristan says, walking behind Maya's chair. "We love you. Know that we do. But, Zig's done some bad things okay? We have some trouble trusting him." Maya says, putting her hand on my arm. "Fine. I'll talk to him." I say, picking up my scone and taking a bite. "That's not it... we want you to stop talking to him." Tristan says calmly, staring into my eyes. "I can't do that." I say flatly, avoiding his glare. "And why is that?" Brian asks, finally speaking up. "Because he stood up for me when you couldn't." I say, narrowing my eyes at him. I push a button to call the nurse. One appears a moment later. "Yes Ms. Carlo?" The petite redhead asks with a fake smile playing on her lips. "I'm tired, could you please escort these people out? Thank you." "As you wish." She says, gesturing them out. "And guys?" I say as they turn to face me. "I get out of here tomorrow. I'd like it if I still had friends by then." I say, sliding down into the covers and turning away from them, sulking into my pillow.

* * *

"Hey Christi!" Zig says, entering the room with a bouquet of white roses. "Wow, those are beautiful, you didn't have to get me flowers. Roses are really expensive." I say, looking into his soft green eyes. "Well, if I'm going to play your stage boyfriend, I'd better act like one." He says, sitting in the chair closest to my bed. "You're so sweet." I say sitting up and smiling. "I know." He says winking with a soft laugh. "I need to ask you something Zig, and I want you to be honest with me." I say with a serious tone in my voice. "Anything." He says, putting the flowers down and folding his hands in his lap. "Did you do anything to make Tori mad?" I ask, curiosity in my voice. "Well, other than the kiss with Maya.. no." "Zig-" "Okay, I did do something else... but its pretty bad." "What did you do exactly?" I ask, a bit frightened. "Well, I treated her like shit when we were together, and then she sees the way I treat you... and she gets really mad. SO she asked me like 'what's up with that?' And in a fit of rage, I told her I never loved her... Well, she stormed off crying." There's a long period of silence before he speaks again. "If I could take back everything I said, I would. I mean, I didn't really love her, but it was cruel to tell her that." He says, staring at his hands. "Sure she's beautiful, but I only liked her for her body. She was nothing more than an object to be had in my mind. But then I got to know Maya, and realized that neither of us deserved to be in a tanking relationship, so I broke up with her. And Maya and I shared a kiss. But she has Cam, and I'm destined to be forever alone." "Oh come on now. You can find another girl like Maya, I know so. You're charming and sweet and kind. Any girl would be lucky to have you." I say, trying to get him to look at me. "Well, there is this one girl..." He says with a twinkle in his eyes. "Oh yeah? What's she like?" "Well, she's new and her name's Nora... I really like her. She has strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She's really funny and has an amazing voice. I want to audition her for WhisperHug when you get back on your feet." He says, popping back into reality. "She sounds perfect Zig... or should I say Sam?" I ask, smiling. "Hahahaha, It would be a pleasure to work with you Ms. Carlo, rehearsals start wednesday." He says, getting up. "Now, I have to go home and work on algebra. An actor's job is never done." He says with a dramatic hair flip. He stands up and gives me a hug before walking out of my room and down the hall, whistling to "Someone Like You" by Adele.

* * *

I wake up with a smile on my face, remembering that it was my last day in the hospital, and I would be discharged at noon. I check my phone, I have a text from Cam.

**Cam: Hey Gee, sorry about everything that went down. We didn't know how you felt about Zig. I'd be careful mentioning him around Tori for a while. Maya and I honestly don't have any beef with him. Love you and can't wait to see you back in the hallowed halls of DCS next week- C.**

Well, that's a relief. I think to myself, realizing that Zig isn't everyone's "public enemy number 1". I mean I'm gonna be working with Zig for awhile, I should at least be friendly with him while I do so, right? I think to myself as Maya enters my room.

"Hey M. What are you up to this fine Sunday morning?" "Well someone's happy." She says, walking to my bedside and picking up the flowers from Zig. "Swanky. Did Brian get you these?" She asks as she sniffs the white roses. "No actually. Zig did. He said since we're a stage couple, we might as well act like one." I say, trying to recall his exact words. "Sweet huh?" I ask, trying to determine the emotion behind Maya's face. "Yeah... Yeah, it is sweet. But, uh, I think there's a motive behind it." Maya says, putting the flowers down and looking into my eyes. "No. Zig and I are friends. He did flirt with me once, but I shot him down. He knows about Brian." "But he will stop at nothing to break you two up." Tristan says, entering the room. "No. He's sweet, he wouldn't do that." I say, in denial that Zig could be anything but charming. "Think about it. Brian wasn't there to fight off that guy to save you, but Zig was. Zig wants to indirectly show you that he would fight to have you. He's willing to risk friendships with us for a relationship with you." Tristan says, sitting down and crossing his legs. "No no, there's a mistake. Zig just told me about this girl he likes... Nora. He doesn't like me anymore, okay?" I ask, staring at my hands, still in disbelief. "Nora?" "Yeah, he said there was this girl named Nora that's like really pretty and very talented." I say, still not ready to admit what Tris had been telling me. "Okay, I guess I'll believe that. But the boy's got some serious feelings for you too." Tristan says, putting on his sunglasses and bumping into none other than Zig on his way out the door.

The overwhelming smell of too much body spray hit us immediately. When would boys learn that less is more when it comes to these types of things? Anyway, Zig walked in, sitting next to Maya. "Hey." "Hey yourself." I say back, not being able to think of a funny retort. "How's the leg." He asks, trying desperately to move from the awkward conversation between us. "Well, they're upgrading me from the cast to the boot and the back brace comes off today. The arm cast will stay the same... good ole castey." I say, awkwardly petting the hard coating. "You're twisted." He says shaking his head back and forth, smirking. "That's why ya love me." I say winking and getting out of bed. I wasn't hooked up to any of the scary machines anymore, so I could get up if I wanted to. And I had to pee. Hospital gowns though, not a wise fashion statement for everyone. I've seen more butts than I would have liked to in my stay here. "Ugh. It feels so good to actually get up." I say, stretching my arms above my head. One of the knots on the back of my gown comes loose and unties. I try to tie it with no success. Zig gets up. "I got it." He says, signaling for Maya to sit back down, her face full of confusion. After he finishes tying, he puts his hands on my waist. "Good as new." He says with a grin as Cam and Brian enter the room. Zig quickly sits back down. "What's going on?" Brian asks, looking at the three of us. "He was uh, the gown. It came undone and Zig, um-" "I fixed it." He says nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, he was just helping me out ya know. BFF's!" I say, putting a thumb up and retiring to my bedside to pack my things. Once everything was in order, I bent down to pick up my bag, and the knot came undone again. "I got it." Brian says, glaring at Zig and rushing to the other side of the bed. He tied the knot and wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing my neck. "Still sexy in a hospital gown, how does she do it?" Brian asks, turning to face me and wrapping his arms around my waist. "My my Mr. Bierl you dog." I say winking and kissing him passionately. The knot comes undone once more, I try to tie it but Brian lowers my hands. "Leave it." He says, his hands traveling south of my waist. "We're gonna... go." Cam says awkwardly, leading the others to the waiting room. "I missed this." I say, breaking the kiss. "I love you Gioia Carlo." "And I you Brian Bierl." I say, my hands going to his hair. The kissing became more heated, and intense. "Not now." I whisper in his ear. "Not here." I say, releasing his grasp and walking away. He begrudgingly accepts it. I walk to my stuff and change into street clothes: yoga pants and a burgundy tank top. "Those pants are really working for ya." I hear a voice say, we both turn to see Maya at the door. "Brian leave us why don't you." Maya jokes in a British accent. "Love you too M." He says, kissing my cheek and walking to the door. "Text me later." He says, before disappearing down the winding hallways. "Will do." I say, still laughing from Maya's comment. "Okay Geeg. Time to pack up the stuff and head home." She says, clapping her hands together and taking my bag. I put my arms on my crutches and slowly make my way out of the room, past the weird moments and awkward conversations, and into the Matlin family car, arriving home and napping until dinner.

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**Hahahaha! I finally figured out how to do line breaks! This is a huge victory for me... Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! Have a good day/night Degrassians!**


	29. People Talking Without Speaking

**Chapter 29: "People Talking Without Speaking..."**

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"Baked Mac and Cheese? Aww Mrs. Matlin you shouldn't have." "No trouble, really. Maya said it was one of your favorites and you've had a pretty rough week. Starting a new week of school and ending it in a hospital... you're a brave soul." She says, a wise look in her eye. A look almost saying, 'I've been there before'.

"Well dig in, I made enough for ten." She says with a soft laugh, not unlike Maya's. "I guess it's that part of me that admires her for raising the 8 of us." She says with a wide grin, remembering her childhood. "I understand completely. My dad pretty much single handedly raised us, and every Sunday, without even thinking about it, cooks a pound of pasta for 2 people." "Hahaha. Been there. Maya's older siblings used to eat everything and anything in the house. Now I cook too much." "Oh that's nothing. Back in the early 2000's my older brother and his friends were watching Survivor and instead of eating the chips, they ate a bag of baby carrots and celery with ranch dressing." I say, spooning a glob of mac and cheese onto my plate and sitting down. "Teenage boys with a love for healthy food, how refreshing." Mr. Matlin says, grabbing a pitcher of water and setting it on the table. "We're junk food junkies though, he's the black sheep." I say, picking a forkful of mac and cheese up and plopping it into my mouth. "Wow! This is amazing Mrs. Matlin." I say, quickly eating another mouthful. "Aww I'm flattered." Mrs. Matlin says, putting her hand to her chest and smiling. "This is really good Mom. Exceptional work, thank you." Maya says, examining the fork before picking up another bite. "Well done honey, they're right." Mr Matlin says, pouring another cup of water for himself. "I feel spoiled." She says jokingly, asking Maya to pass the salt.

"Its so great to be home. It means the world to me that you're letting me stay in your beautiful home. I don't know what I'd be doing if I hadn't met Maya. She's an exceptional friend." I say with a wide smile on my face. "Honestly it's no trouble at all. Its nice having another girl around here. Katie, our oldest daughter, is off at Stanford. And it was getting lonely around here. You liven the place up." Mrs. Matlin says grinning, cat-like eyes glowing. "I've been known to have that effect hahaha." I say sarcastically, spooning another glob of mac and cheese on my plate. "I would say we could share clothes, but Maya is much smaller than I am hahaha. That would make the somewhat sister situation complete." I say laughing softly and picking up another mouthful on my fork. "I couldn't share close with my own sister either. It wasn't too bad, we have different styles anyway." Maya says, walking to the fridge to get more ice for her drink.

Once we'd all finished eating Maya and I cleared the table and washed the dishes. Then I had to start on the mountain of work that had accumulated in my three day absence from school.

* * *

I sit in my room, memorizing Spanish vocab words for a quiz on Tuesday. I hear a knock at the door. "Come in." "Hey Gee. I wanted to talk to you about something." Maya says, sitting on my bed. I put down my flash cards and fold my hands in my lap. "Sure My, go right ahead. What's up?" I say, sitting up straight. "Well, Cam and I were thinking. You and Zig are going to be spending an awfully long time together on the musical... Will he get jealous- Brian I mean." "Zig and I are friends, and nothing more. Sure he's cute but, do you see this ring? As long as I'm wearing it, Brian and I are still together." I say, putting my hand out to her. "Okay. But be careful. I swear he's got voodoo magic up his sleeves. He's very persuasive." She says, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away with a look of pity on her face. "Look. Maya, I really appreciate what you're trying to do. But I don't need it okay? I love Brian, I'm not going to give that up for a fling with Zig. Okay?" "That's exactly what I thought at first too..." Maya says, getting off of my bed and standing at the door frame. "Don't get hurt." She says, looking at me with sorrow filled eyes. Maya walks into her room and I hear muffled cello playing as I pick up my flash cards. "Lamentar, to regret..." I say in a hushed voice, sighing.

* * *

"Good Morning Degrassi, rehearsals for the original musical 'Well, what now?' start Wednesday, and call backs for Stacy will be in the auditorium tomorrow. That's all Degrassi, and have a great day." Dave says over the video announcements in homeroom the next morning.

Now everyone's talking about me. Maya fills me in on the funny rumors. According to Steve from Brian's Chem class, it was a drug deal gone wrong. And according to Jennie from Chorus, he's the Father of my unborn child. I filed the case with Mrs. Burke over the phone last night. The trial's next week. The fact that Gabe would come here just to be a dick is beyond me. My only question though, is he staying here? I decide to text my friend from back home.

**Me: Hey Kid! Miss you oodles and boodles. Quick question, is Gabe still at school?**

**Danielle: Ahhh! I miss you more! BTW, Katie's pregnant. Details to follow. Skype me. And yeah, the dickwad's still here.**

**Me: I owe Prifti 20 bucks now. I thought it would be junior year.**

**Danielle: Which means I'm out too. I said 3rd term this year. It was over the summer, she's due in April. You have to fly down here for that.**

**Me: Wouldn't miss that shit for the world. Gtg, bell just rang.**

**Danielle: Love you Gee. Bye.**

I put my phone in my back pocket and walk to English class.

* * *

"Ahh, it's good to see you Gioia. Hope you're feeling better." Ms. Dawes says as I enter the room. "Much better thank you. The boot comes off in two weeks and the cast comes off in three." "Marvelous." She says, returning to the work on her laptop. I put my bad on the ground and sit next to Cam. "Hey." I say as he looks up from Eli's journal. "Riveting stuff?" I ask, sneaking a peek at the work. "Oh yeah. You can borrow it sometime." He says, smiling and putting in his backpack, retrieving his binder and a mechanical pencil as the bell rings again and class begins.

"What is love?" Ms. Dawes asks, pacing around the classroom. "Anyone?" She asks after no one answers. "Alright. I'll answer. Love can not be described in words. It's a feeling in your heart. It's who or what you think about right before you go to bed and as you wake up in the morning. Your assignment is to write in your journal about love or lack thereof. I'll give you the rest of class to work on it. Converse with your neighbor if need be, but be quiet." Dawes says, pacing throughout her speech. She closes the door to the classroom then sits down, typing away at her keyboard.

* * *

_Love: four letters, 1 syllable. Simple. Yeah right. So Dawes said "to write about love. And make it real and raw." Well here's some raw shit for ya. Fitz. Yup. We were a thing. He used to be this bad ass with a love for pain... but then Eli came along. Eli had to be Fitz's enemy. He had to take up all Fitz's time. I never got to see him through all that. Then he left for a while, and when he came back he was jacked up on Jesus. More so then Becky Baker, if that's even possible. So yeah, he turned to Christianity and he came back for CLARE. Not me. But Clare fucking Edwards. But you know, Fitz and his Jesus lovin ways were INFINITELY better than having to deal with all Harry's bullshit. Harry was my friend, sure I'll give him that. Then we were talking one day and asked if I wanted to having "A lil somthin on the side". Then he grabbed my ass. And, he was hot so I agreed. Little did I know Harry was hiding a pretty big secret. HE'S GAY! I mean, I'm cool with it. Love whomever you want and all that jazz, but really, really Harry? And the best part is how I found out. We were at a Torres house party and I knocked on the bathroom door. When I walked in I caught him with JAKE MARTIN! Why on earth would you fuck the tree hugger? The Brawny paper towel look alike! I mean, sure he's hot, but all he does is preach about the environment. The only reason Katie put up with it was to get in his pants. And that didn't work. I heard they all went to the Drianca "wedding" in Vegas and she banged the FaceRange guy for some cash. Have some class! I'm rambling. What is love? I guess I haven't found it yet._

* * *

I walk into chorus, Open Mic day. On days when we have nothing to fix and new songs aren't in yet, Goldman does Open Mic day. You get the music, he'll play it on the piano. I walk to the piano and hand Goldman my sheet music. "Oh, uh. Someone else was going to do that song. Maybe you two could do a duet!" Goldman says as someone taps my shoulder from behind. I turn to see Zig. "Hey." He says with a wide grin. "You're in chorus?" "Yeah, just transferred in from Music Theory. It seemed like fun in here." He says, grabbing a music folder and sitting next to Cam, who was getting used to Zig, but still felt a little squeamish around him. "Hi." Jake says quietly. "Hey Jake... what's up?" I ask awkwardly, not quite sure why we're talking. "I uh, I'm going to be singing with you today." He says looking down. "Okay." I say with a confused look on my face, thinking well we are in chorus together, no shit. Then I remembered what Goldman said.

"Okay class. Today we have a special treat. My veteran of Open Mic and our new friend Jake are going to be performing together. Tell them what you're singing guys." Goldman says, sitting down at the piano bench and flipping to our music. "I'm Jake." "And I'm Gioia." "And we're going to be singing 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' by Carol King and James Taylor." Jake says, handing me a mic. I put it on the lowest setting. The chorus room's pretty small. Goldman starts playing the beginning bars and Jake smiles as he clears his throat. "Tonight you're mine. Completely. You give your love, so sweetly. Tonight, the light, of love is in your eyes. But will you love me tomorrow?" I sing looking at Jake. "Is this a lasting treasure, or just a moment's pleasure? Can I believe the magic of your sighs? Will you still love me tomorrow?" He sings in a shockingly beautiful voice. "Tonight with words unspoken. You say that I'm the only one. But will my heart, be broken, when the ni-" I sing. "When the night" He echoes back. "Meets the mor-" I sing, staring into his green eyes. "Meets the morning sun" He says back once more. "I'd like to know that your love, is a love that can, is a love that can, is a love that I can be sure of!" I sing to him my stomach in knots. "SO tell, me now, and I won't ask again. Will you still love me tomorrow?" He sings back with just as much intensity. "So tell me now, and I won't ask again. Will you still love me tomorrow. Will you still love me tomorrow. Will you still love me... To-mo-row." We sing together. At the end we are oblivious to people clapping. Goldman has to clear his throat to get our attention.

"WOW! That was great you two! Excellent work. Who's next?" Goldman asks, smiling brightly and walking back to piano. Zig raises his hand. "Oh yes you. What are you going to sing for us?" Goldman asks as Zig makes his way down the raisers. "Good choice!" Goldman says as Zig hands him the sheet music. "I'm Zig" and I'll be singing 'Sound of Silence' by Simon and Garfunkel." Zig says, turning up the mic and looking to Goldman with a weak, unsure smile. "Ya know! We did this song in chorus last year! Would you mind if Gioia came down here to sing with you?" "I guess it's up to her." He says with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'd love to." I say, making my way down to our makeshift stage. "Listen to the sound. Listen to the sound. Listen to the sound... of Silence." We sing together, harmonizing. "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again... Because a vision softly creeping. Left its seeds while I was sleeping." He sings, looking to Jake, who had an uncomfortable smile on his face. "And the vision, that was planted in my brain... still remains. Within the sound." I sing, looking to Zig, who isn't looking at me, but at Jake still. "Within the sound." He echoes. "Of Silence." "Silence." "In restless dreams I walked alone." "Narrow streets of cobblestone." " 'neath the halo of a street lamp. I turned my collar to the cold and damp." "When my eyes were stabbed, by the flash of a neon light. That split the night... And touched the sound." "And touched the sound. Of silence." We continue on till the end, switching off sections. Zig looking at Jake and me awkwardly looking at Zig. He must have gotten the 'she needs to be avoided' memo. Figures. I can't be just friends with a guy now can I? We sit down and other people perform. Zig stares at Jake the entire time. Is Zig jealous that I sang with Jake? I mean, we did have a moment there on stage... No. I sat in my seat, fidgeting till chorus ended. The room was full of applause as Jess and Alex finished an adele cover. The bell rang and the room cleared. It was lunch block after all. Zig cornered Jake and started talking to him. Cam was waiting at the bottom of the raisers with his backpack on, to walk me to lunch. "What's with Zig?" I whisper to Cam. "Well, Jake's like a musical prodigy, but won't agree to be in WhisperHug. Zig's pulling out everything he can think of, but nothing's worked." Cam whispers back, as we walk past them and to the lunchroom, where Tori was chomping away on a salad and Tristan read food labels. "Oh, Goldman told me to give you this." Cam says, reaching into his bag and pulling out a flyer for the school open mic. "He said the WHS chorus is in town on a music field trip and he wants them to perform at open mic for the parents to see 'what a year with goldman can do'." Cam says, putting air quotes around the last part. "Ahh! That's so awesome! I hope you get to meet Leanne. He'll probably want her to come too. Even if she is off in the real world. She has been buds with Goldman for fucking ever." I say, taking and examining the flyer. "He wants you to come after school to go over some harmonies. Oh, and I have something else for you." He says, opening his bag again. "Here. Now that you're a Canadian, you can have one of these bad boys." He says, putting a piece of candy, face down, on my palm. I turn it over. "A kinder egg...You, are a good man." I say, unwrapping and opening the egg. Tristan looks at Cam with a sad face. "Don't worry, I bought more." Cam says, taking three more eggs out of his bag. Tori and Tristan look at each other and squeal with excitement, quickly unwrapping and opening the eggs. "So, how goes hockey?" I ask, grabbing my lunch from my bag. "Its good. Its nice to be back, I just wish Luke would get off his high horse and stop acting like he owns the damn place." Cam says, glaring at Luke who's sitting with the team. "I mean, he's a pretty good hockey player. But pretty good doesn't get you into the NHL." Cam says, staring at the table. "You okay?" I ask, trying breaking him from his trance. "Yeah. Just school stress I guess. Junior year's a pretty big one." Cam says, puffing out a deep breath from, his cheeks and grabbing a sandwich from his bag. Maya and Brian join us then.

"Hey all. Oh there better be a Kinder Egg for me." Maya says, sitting down and glancing at the empty wrappers on the table. Cam pulls two more from his bag. "That's why I love ya!" Maya says, taking the egg and messing up Cam's hair. "Oh come on... that's not the only reason is it?" Cam asks, fixing his hair. "Well, you're not half bad kid. I think you're gonna be here for quite awhile. Especially if there are more Kinder Eggs." She says, trying to grab his bag. "Ahh but there are." Cam says, opening his bag up and tilting it to show Maya and the rest of us. There must have been 50 more. "I knew there was a reason I liked you." Maya says leaning over the table to kiss him.

* * *

Home again. I sat in my room working on Geometry when my phone rang. Unknown number. "Hello?" "Hi. Its Zig... I uh, come to the library. The uh, project, Spanish. The Spanish project is due in a few days and Jake and I need help. Thanks." Then he hung up, clearly flustered. I began packing a small bag with my Spanish textbook, notebook, and sources I'd printed for the project. I dug through a pile of laundry and found my gray sweatshirt. "M? You in there?" I ask, knocking on her door. "Just a sec!" Maya says, turning down her music and answering the door, her hair messy. "Cam's in here isn't he?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. "So we were making out. Sue me." Maya says, opening her door more and letting me in. She picked up a comb from her dresser top and began taming her mane. "I'm going down to the library to work on a project for Spanish. Hey Cam." I say, waving to Cam who's lying on Maya's bed with his arms behind his head. "Howdy." He says with a quick wave and a soft laugh. "Okay. I'm off, hasta luego." "We don't take Spanish." Cam says as I close the door to Maya's room and walk out the front door and down the block.

* * *

"Hey Gigi. Sit on down, we about to get our Spanish on." Zig jokes, waving to me as he sits down with books he'd grabbed from the shelf a moment earlier. "Will do." I say, taking off my sweatshirt and laying i on the back of the chair next to him, then taking out my notes. "Where's jake?" I ask, looking around for him. The library's pretty empty except for a few people reading at different tables or working on homework. There's maybe ten of us. "Oh, he's at the computers working on the PowerPoint. He's really good with computers... or so he says." "I heard that." Jake says, putting his hands on the back of the seat I'm in a placing a copy of the PowerPoint on the table. "It's almost done. I just need your notes," he says, putting a hand on my head. "And your Spanish section." He says, placing his other hand on Zig's head. "I'll be in the back working on formatting. Call if you need me for any reason." He says, taking his hands away and whistling as he made his way to the back of the library and sat at a spinning chair, typing away furiously.

"Need help with the Spanish part?" "Actually no. I'm almost done. I just need you to proof read it if you wouldn't mind." He says, handing over a sheet where he'd written sentences. "Looks good! I'll go run it down to Jake. He can have my notes too. Be back in a sec!" I say, taking my notebook and Zig's work to the back of the library.

"What's up?" He asks, not looking up from the keyboard. "I've got some notes for you. Tell me if you can't read some of it. I know, my handwriting is horrid." I say, handing him the notes and taking a seat next to him. "Wow, this looks really good." I say, glancing at the powerpoint as he flips through my notes. "And once we add these notes, we'll be finished. Excited stuff I know." He says sarcastically, propping the notebook up and typing away. I start getting up to leave, but stop myself. "Hey. Uh, I'm in this band WhisperHug, and we kind of need a manager... Would you be interested?" I ask, sitting back down and looking to Jake for an answer. "Um. Yeah. That doesn't sound completely horrible." Jake says with a smirk on his face. "How would tomorrow after school work for you?" I ask, looking into his green irises and smiling. "Alright... I guess I could swing that." He says nodding. "What's your sound like?" "We do covers of old stuff and we're working on some originals but there far from ready." I say, shaking my head at the thought of how horrible our originals are. "Okay... I'll check it out." He says winking as I walk back to the table I'd been sitting at with Zig and continue working on the project.

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**Hope you liked this one. I'm gonna be on a bit of a hiatus, I need some time to sit down and write some good chapters. That's partially why I made this chapter soooo long. Give you a bit more while I work on more chapters. These haven't been too great. Any who, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a good day Degrassians!**

**P.S. The thing about "Katie" was an inside joke for my friends who read this. I actually threw in a lot of our inside jokes in this, that's probably why its kind of strange sometimes. **


	30. The Play's The Thing

**Chapter 30: "The Play's The Thing"**

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Maya, Zig, Adam and I were rehearsing in the band room when we heard feet scuffling in. "Not half bad..." Jake says, walking to the middle of the room where we were practicing one of our originals. "Hey Jake." Zig says, putting his guitar down and standing next to him. "So. Band, Jake. Jake, band." "Hey Jake!" Adam and Maya say simultaneously. "I love the style. It feels very new... but has some oldies vibes. Very intriguing." Jake says, nodding approvingly. "Cello chick. You were awesome on that last measure. You were in the zone! Oh and Bass kid, nice harmonizing with Ziggy. And per usual, vocals were amazing too. I like where this is heading." Jake says walking out of the room and down the hall.

"Well that was promising." I say, helping Maya pack up her cello. "I heard from Jenna in my French class that he's basically a prodigy." Maya says, putting her cello in a cubby and walking out of the band room and to her locker as I followed closely behind.

"M. Whatdaya think about Jake?" I ask, leaning up against the bank of lockers as she puts away and exchanges binders. "I think he'll work. I'm kinda excited actually." Maya says giggling softly. "Brings back memories of the old days of WhisperHug." She says looking off, down the hallway.

* * *

"GOOD AFTERNOON!" Dave booms as rehearsal begins. "This looks like a good group..." He says smiling and looking over the mass of us. It wasn't that big a group, maybe 45. We were sitting on stage and starting vocal warm ups. "I'd all like you to meet our newest cast member and ice hound, Halley Sevransky!" People begin to clap. "She'll be our Sarah. Now, we're gonna start with our first scene 'white room, no windows' I need Zig, Mystery Girl, Halley, Tori and my boy Tristan. On stage please. And grab a script." Dave says, laying a stack of scripts on the stage and motioning for the others to sit in the audience. Clare and Adam enter with coffee, handing one to Dave and sitting down at a big metal table. "Let's do this." Dave says smiling and taking a sip of his coffee.

* * *

**"It's raining outside. Christi, Sam, Sarah, Kyle and Max are inside watching tv. Christi crosses to the kitchen. There's sounds of a terrible storm outside and lightening every so often. Sam follows Christi."** Clare says, setting the scene.

"Chris, wait. I have to talk to you." Zig says, as I turn around to look at him. "What. What could you possibly want?" I ask, arms over my chest stamping my foot. "I'm going to Quebec over Christmas break. I got you a ticket, if you still wanna go." Zig says. **"Sam pulls two tickets from his back pocket."** Adam says, narrating. "Of course I wanna go. I'm not mad at you. I never was. I just need some time." I say, looking at him with vacant eyes. "I love you Christi. And I'll give you time... " Zig says, bringing me in a hug. "Okay. I love you too. I just don't wanna get hurt again." "You know I never meant to hurt you." He says, breaking from the hug. "I know. Do you want a coke?" "Yeah. See you in there." He says, hugging me from behind and kissing my jaw. "Bye." I say. Turning toward him and looking into his eyes. **"Cristi grabs two sodas from the fridge and crosses back to the living room, sitting on Sam's lap and laughing. The scene changes. Christi and Sam are in a fancy restaurant, dressed in a gown and a suit. Violin music is playing in the background."** Adam says, continuing to set the scene.

Stage managers move tables on wheels out to us and the backdrop changes. "I'm glad you agreed to this. I needed to see you. I have something I need to say." Zig says, pulling my chair out and gesturing for me to sit down. "Good. I had something to say too... you first." I say, scooching the chair in as he crosses to his seat. "You first." He says smiling and taking a sip of water. "Well. I have news. I got into Berkeley for music! I start in the Fall." "That's awesome babe! I'm so excited for you." "Thank you. I'm beyond excited. Am I floating, because I feel like I'm floating." "You do look a little floaty." "Oh, you wanted to say something. Go ahead." I say, sitting up and looking at him with a genuine smile. "Well. I wanted to ask you If you maybe... wanted to move in together? I mean, we've been dating for 5 years now and I think its time we went ahead and did it. It's you and me against the world." **"Queue music, the band starts playing a slow, romantic toon. Sam walks downstage with a simple spotlight on him."** Clare says, flipping a page in her script.

_"You and I, here. Together and well. I thought there wasn't a small chance in hell. You in a dress, showing off every curve. I'm over here, a man you don't deserve."_ **"The music stops, the light changes back."** "What do you mean I don't deserve you. I'm not exactly special." "That's just it though" **"The music starts up again"** _"I saw you, in the light of a cold crowded bar. Then I thought, 'well Sam you've made it this far'. I swallowed my pride I sat, in the stool trying to act, like I'm cool and well, now you're by my side."_ "For the record-" _"Then I took you to meet the fam, you and I were not part of their plan. Guess I thought, that I was, your type of man."_ "If I could just-" _"But ya stayed with me and we had... I don't know what to say, but I guess that I'm glad, that I met you, and that we're doing swell."_ "Hun, this is great, but I'm missing the point-" _"I love you Chris and I want to show, How glad I am, I got to know, a girl as smart, and beautiful as you. I get nervous when I'm near you. 5 years now with these butterflies too. One look and the panic is sent. If we move in together and start, a new chapter, our lives not apart, and not have to deal with my idiotic rents-"_ _"And I guess its not my business to say, but could it be that living this way, could give us freedom, and rules we shant obey."_ "Now you're getting it." Zig say winking. **"The music stops again and the two are outside the restaurant, walking home from their date, Sam's suit jacket draped around Christi"**

"I had a really great night. I love you Sam." "I love you too." I wrap my arms around his neck and his hands around my waist. "How about a goodnight kiss?" "You have to ask?" I say, tilting my head and putting my lips to his.

"Alright guys, save some for opening night." Dave says, breaking me from my trance. "Sorry." We say simultaneously, I duck my head to hide the noticeable blush spreading on my cheeks. "Its all good Mystery Girl. Oh shit, it's 4. Alright, great rehearsal guys. See you all tomorrow." Dave says, addressing the rest of the cast. "Bye Sam and Christi!" Halley says in an irritatingly high pitch voice as we walk out of the auditorium and into the band room where Maya was practicing.

"Hey M." I say entering the room with a wave. "Hey Gigi. I'm just packing up, Dad will be here in 10. How was rehearsal?" "It was good. The script so far is very well written and interesting. I can't wait till next rehearsal" "But, tomorrow's the trial right." "Oh shit... I forgot. I guess I can't go then." "I'll text Dave." Zig says, pulling out his phone and typing a quick message. "Thanks. I completely forgot about the trial..." "You gonna be okay." "I'm gonna have to be." I say as Maya grabs her cello and we walk out into the parking lot and drive home. My mind racing, thinking about facing Gabe again.

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**Inspiration hit! Got this chapter and the next done. Hope you liked the Gigi-Zig interaction. Its a fun one for me to write.** **Have a great day Degrassians!**


	31. Trial and Error

**Chapter 31: Trial and Error**

Okay. You can do this. He's just dirt under our feet." Maya says with a scowl, adjusting my dress as we stand in front of the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. "I'm just really nervous." I say, my stomach churning at the thought of having to see him. "There's no need to be nervous. Cam, Brian, Zig and I will be there for you. Plus you look stunning." "Thanks. I borrowed the dress from Tori. The shoes are a bit pinchy." I say adjusting my feet in my black heels. "Okay. I'm ready." I say, smoothing the white lace fabric down and running my fingers through my cocoa brown curls. "That's the spirit. Come on, the boys are waiting downstairs." Maya says, taking my hand and twisting the door open.

"Well look at you. You look stunning G." Brain says, getting up from his chair in the living room and taking my hands in his. "Thanks. My stomach is in knots." I say, looking down. "Come here." He says, opening his arms and excepting my warm embrace. "You are braver than you know. I love you and I know we can beat this." He whispers in my ear, rubbing my back with his palm for comfort. "You've been amazing through all this crap, I love you too." I say, still in his arms. "Now lets get in there and kick some ass." He says smiling, taking my hand as we walk to the Matlin's driveway and into Cam's car, driving off.

* * *

We walk through the hallowed halls of the court house. The noise of Maya's shoes hit in the floor fill my ears. We walk to a desk where a blonde women with heavy makeup glares at us. "Yes." "We're here for the Carlo vs. De Souza trial." Maya says, looking to me with a soft smile. "One moment please." The women says emotionlessly, walking the a filing cabinet and pulling out a thin manilla folder. "Courtroom 5." She says, putting the folder away and slamming the cabinet shut. We walk down the hall again, Maya's hand in Cam's, Brian's in mine, and Zig's stuffed in his pockets.

* * *

We stand as the judge walks in the room with a regal jaunt in her step. Gabe stands with his blonde bimbo girlfriend, attached to his side. Gabe's dressed in a dark suit and his lawyer looks like she's twelve.

We all stand in silence until a man in a beige jumpsuit allows us to sit. Mrs. Burke stands and addresses the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Judge Shultz, and galley. My client, Miss. Carlo, has been harassed by Mr. De Souza for several years now, but he's taken it too far. He publicly abused her and just recently hired a man I assault her, resulting in a broken leg, ribs and a sprained wrist.. not to mention the bruises she's covered in." "May I see?" The Judge gestures to the photos on our table. The Bailiff takes our pictures and hands them to the judge who looks them over, her hand over her mouth in disgust. "Did anyone doctor these photos in any way?" She asks, a quiver of pain in her voice. "No your honor. Those photos, as well as the injuries behind them, are all 100% hers." Mrs. Burke says, crossing back to the table and sitting down. I take Brian's hand for support.

"Mr. De Souza, your retort?" Judge Shultz asks, faking a smile. "Your honor. My client was merely using self defence." "Objection your honor." Ms. Burke says, jumping to her feet. "Overruled." She says, banging her gavle. "Your honor. As I was saying. My client was trying to defend himself when she attacked him. He was just trying to protect himself." "On what grounds?" "Well, on August 10th in the altercation at Victoria's, Mr. De Souza was having a conversation with Ms. Carlo." "A conversation? He was assaulting me! He grabbed my arms and left them bruised." I say, quickly standing and glaring at his lawyer. "Ms. Carlo, though the circumstances are unorthodox, under no condition may you interrupt and shout in my courtroom, is that clear?" "Yes your honor I apologize." I say, smoothing my skirt and sitting. "Good. Ms. Prifti, you may continue." Judge Shultz says, banging her gavle once more.

"We call Gregory Bowe to the stand." She says, sitting once more as the doors open and Greg walks in. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and angrily makes his way to the stand. "Mr. Bowe, where were you on September 13th at 9:14 AM?" Ms. Prifti asks, pacing. "I was at that dumb school. Gabe told me to find her so he could talk to her. Than that dude said not to go near her. And I said 'then what'? And he punched me. Its not my fault she showed up." He says shrugging. "Bye." He says, leaving the stand and walking out.

"In my 20 years as a judge, I've never had anyone do that." Judge shultz says grinning. "Ms. Burke. Call your first witness." "We call Brian Bierl to the stand." She says, a stern thread in her voice. Brian gets up and squeezes my hand once more before walking to the stand.

"Mr. Bierl, could you explain for the court what you were doing on August 10th at 9:48PM?" "I was out for dinner with my friends and girlfriend. We sat down at a booth while Gioia was speaking with one of our old friends, Mr. De Souza." Brian says, gesturing to Gabe. "However, things became heats and he started hurting and threatening her. I, in a fit of rage swung at him. I know it was wrong and I take full responsibility for it. I just didn't want to see her hurt again." He says, locking eyes with me with a gentle smile and sorrow filled eyes. "Thank you. No further questions." She says nodding as Brian steps down and sits with me, taking my hand once more.

Gabe stands up. All eyes are on him.

"Your honor. On the night of August 10th... I was talking with her, and I guess I don't know my own strength. I take full blame on that charge; however, I did not 'hire a boy to hurt her'. I was in town on vacation with my family and my friend Greg came along. I told him about everything and he decided to fight this battle for me. It was unfair and once again I take full responsibility. Lock me up if you have to... I deserve it." Gabe says, lowering his head and wringing his hands.

"If you insist Mr. De Souza. The court orders you to three months in a correctional facility and 60 hours of community service as well as an apology to Ms. Carlo and a settlement of $500." Judge Shultz says, banging her gavle once more and releasing us.

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We were celebrating in the courtroom after everyone else had filed out. Ms. Burke was packing her briefcase. "Ms. Burke. Thank you so much for helping us win this case. We owe it all to you." "It was no problem. Oh and Ms. Carlo? Never take anything for granted and live your life in any way you chose. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." She says, pulling me in for a warm embrace. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to catch. It was a pleasure getting to know and represent you Ms. Carlo." Ms. Burke says, shaking my hand and walking out of the courtroom, her shoes clacking on the floor, echoing in the nearly empty room.

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We all went back to Maya's to celebrate. I sat outside, sipping a bottle of coke. There was a gentle breeze and someone tapped my shoulder. "Are you okay?" I turn to see a concerned look growing on Zig's face. "Yeah. I'm okay." I lie through my teeth, faking a smile. "Are you sure... you seem kinda down. You should be happy, he's gonna do the time for what he did to you." Zig says, sitting down next to me on the porch steps. Inside Cam, Maya, Brian, Tristan and Tori are watching some ridiculous reality show. "But I admired him for speaking the truth. I saw what I used to see in him come out today. Today he was gentle and calm and soft spoken... Today he became who he had been 4 years ago." "It's okay. I get it. I used to have this girlfriend back in junior high, her name was Hattie and she was basically a walking pile of glitter. She oozed confidence and I loved being around that. But then she stopped eating. She'd always been a bit bigger, but she was gorgeous all the same. She lost all she had. Three months ago she hung herself. I'm still a mess from it. She was my first love and I think that's why I could never get close to Tori. I was always thinking about Hattie..." He says, scratching the inside of his wrist. "And seeing Tori at her pageants is a huge trigger for me. She thinks I don't want to support her when honestly, I just don't want to have a relapse." I took his hand in mine. "You, Zig Novak, are a kind and gentle soul. You've seen more than you should at this age." I say, looking into his worry filled green eyes. "You don't know the half of it." He says with awkward laughter, kicking dirt up. "When I was 2 my parents seperated, by age 5 they were divorced. My mom left us sporatically for weeks on end with random men she'd had sex with and our name was known throughout DSS offices. She refuses to believe that she's bipolar, so she doesn't take her meds. I've been on food stamps twice, had the water turned off once and almost had to live on the streets. I thank god everyday that I don't have to see her and that my dad is finally home. Honestly, I think we'll all share a collective sigh of relief when she dies. She's ruined our lives and made it certain that we'll spend years in therapy. Plus, I know I was the accidental baby." "Wow." "Sorry. I just needed to get that out." I say, looking off into the night sky. "You are one brave soul." "When my Dad was living back home with his parents, he would pick us up and have a 'Daddy Day'. We could do whatever we wanted. These went on for awhile and the custody battle continued. At 10 I found out that when I was little, maybe 4 or 5, I made my dad a magic wand out of a toilet paper roll and tissue paper and told him that if he used it, he could come home. He kept it. Then when he came home in late March after winning the custody battle he placed the wand in a box, and hugged us all. We all started crying and wouldn't leave his side. I couldn't believe it was real." I say tears streaming down my face. Zig wrapped his arms around me in a big hug. "Hey. It's okay. You're fine I promise." Zig says, rubbing my back with his palm in a steady rhythm and hushing away my muffled sobs. My breathing steadied and I stayed in his arms. "Does Brian know that?" "I don't have the heart to tell him. He's had it pretty easy. I think that's why we mesh so well." I say, still in his arms. "If ever you need someone to talk to, I'm here. That's what friends are for." He whispers in my ear, releasing from my hug and wiping away the remaining tears. "Thanks... Sam." I say, punching his arm playfully. "Anytime Christi." He says with a smile. "Do you wanna go back in?" I nod. "Okay." He says, lending me his hand and getting me off the ground. He twists the knob and sees Tristan and Tori singing Karaoke to "It's My Party."

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**Pretty good chapter I guess. BTW, the end part is true. That's my life (or was my life). Any who, more chapters to come later. Have a good day Degrassians.**


	32. Try to Forgive, Teach me to live

**Chapter 32: "Try to Forgive, Teach Me to Live, Give Me the Strength to Try"**

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"GOIKA!" I hear a male voice say as I walk into the chorus room. "Dominic?" I say, turning to see his brown hair and blue eyes. "OH MY GOD! What are you doing here?" I ask, running up and hugging him. "I tagged along for the chorus trip. The rest of us are in the auditorium running songs before curriculum night." "Ugh its so good to see you! Why haven't you called?" I ask, punching his arm playfully. "It's junior year for me. I've had like zero time to have a social life." He says smirking. "Come on! Lets go to the auditorium." He says, taking my arm and dragging me down the hall.

* * *

"Gigi!" Emilie screams as she sees me. Goldman smirks as she watches us go into a slow motion hug. "I missed you child!" She says, pulling me into a tight hug. "Missed you too Emme." "Is Leanna here?" I ask looking around. "She's on her way. She'll be here tonight." Emilie says, a huge grin on her face. "I take it you're excited?" "Oh you wouldn't believe." She says, her smile widening. "Let me tell you a story child." She says, walking away from the chorus, her arm draped over my shoulder. "Emilie, you're gonna have to save that story for later. We have to keep practicing." Goldman says, motioning for us to move back to our spots on the middle raiser.

"Goldman sits down at his keyboard and begins to play the intro to out Phantom of the Opera medley.

"In sleep he sang to me... in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me, and speaks my name. And so I dream again, for now I find. The phantom, of the opera is there. Inside my mind." The girls sing, looking off into the distance. "Wait wait wait. Remember what I told you in the concert last year? This is the bad boy song!" Oh god... not that analogy again. "Now try it again... but think of the 'bad boy'." Goldman says starting up again.

* * *

"LEANNE!" Emilie says, jumping from her seat. Leanne walked into the auditorium and was watching us from the back row. Emilie captured her in a tighter hug. Now, Leanne is not a person who likes hugs, unless they're from Emilie. They became best friends two years ago and tell eachother everything. "Welcome Leanne. It's so good to see you. We were just about to start Adele. Join us please." Goldman says, a very wide smile on his face. "Will do boss man." She says, putting down her bag and taking her usual spot, a raiser below us. "Okay. Let's dish out some solos. Katherine N. you can have 'Someone Like You'. Gioia, you can have the first 'Rumor Has it' and Leanne can have the second. Emilie you can have 'Set Fire to the Rain'. Arev, you can have 'Rolling in the Deep'. Alright. Let's make some magic." He says with a huge grin as he begins to play and Katherine starts to sing.

* * *

The kids pack up their bags and head for the bus. I was excused from classes to practice for tonight's concert. "Don't forget concert attire! Black pants, black shoes, and white top. All black for a cappella!" Mr. Goldman says as the kids board the bus. The kids wave as the bus heads back to their hotel.

"It was so good to see all of them again." Mr. Goldman says, looking off into the direction the bus had headed. "Are you excited for the concert?" I ask, holding open the door for him and walking back inside, helping him put music folders away. "Beyond excited. I missed working with this group. Don't get me wrong, I love our chorus now, but I've been with those kids for 2 years. I'm gonna miss doing musicals with Jim too... he's a lot of fun. And senior speeches and-" "Hahahaha. I guess we'll have to fly down or make them come up so we can see the musical. What is it this year?" I ask, stacking chairs. "Anything Goes. I helped them choose it." "Ugh I'm so jealous. That's one of my favorite musicals." "But you have to admit. Nothing will be as good as Legally Blonde was last year." He says, smiling to himself and putting the cover over the piano. "So seven o'clock tonight for warmups?" "You bet. We'll all meet in the chorus room and seniors will lead warm ups. Or Leanne if she wants." He says, shrugging and packing his bag. "Alright. See you in a few hours!" "Bye Mr. Goldman." "Bye." He says, waving and heading off to the teachers parking lot. I walk down the hall to the band room, where Maya is practicing her cello again.

I knock on the door. She jumps noticeably and turns toward the door smiling, and setting her cello down. "Hey, you almost ready to go? I figured since its such a nice day we could walk. I mean its only like 4 blocks." "Just a sec. I can't figure out this chord change." She says, looking down at her music and picking up her cello again fiddling around with the strings then beginning to play. "I just can't get it." She says frowning. Jake knocks on the door and steps in. He looks at the music and asks her to play it one more time. She sighs, then begins playing the piece. "Put your finger there and... there." He says, arranging her hands. "Now try it." He says, leaning back, his arms crossed over his chest. "Oh my god. Thank you. You're a lifesaver." "What can I tell ya. Music's my thing." He says smiling and exiting the room.

Maya begins packing up her cello with a wide grin on her face. "He needs to be a part of WhisperHug. I mean come on. I'm no beginner and that chord change would have taken me another hour or two. He just saw the music and bam he got." Maya says, shaking her head. "I'm so happy you like him. He's really good in Spanish too. Have you met his sister?" "No not yet. But Cam says she's amazing on the ice." Maya says with a twinkle in her eye at the thought of Cam. "Alright. We better get you home so you have time to get ready for your concert." Maya says, locking her cello up and grabbing her backpack, switching the lights off and locking the door up on her way out. "I can't believe Ms. Oh gave you a key." "I know right! She knows I won't let anything happen to this key. Its like my baby." She says, hugging the key to her chest and laughing. "Alright Mama Maya. Let's get outta here." I say, holding the door open for her as we cut through the parking lot and head down Queen st.

* * *

"Good even folks. I'm Rob Goldman, director of performing arts for Degrassi Community school. I teach the school's chorus, band, orchestra, wind ensemble and a cappella groups. Tonight I'm pleased to have members from a school I taught back in the states perform for you all. So, without further ado. Let me introduce the WHS chorus!" Mr. Goldman says, leading the applause as we come out from backstage and onto the raisers. "Tonight we have three selections for you: a medley from the musical The Phantom of the Opera, Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence and my favorite, a medley of Adele's music from her album 21." He says, sitting at the piano. "Okay guys. Smile big and really know what you're singing about. I need to sell it to them." He whispers before beginning the opening chords.

* * *

"Oh my god that was amazing!" Maya says, hugging me as Cam and Brian stand behind her. "I'm excited if that's 'what a year with Goldman can do'." Cam says using air quotes. "Oh yeah. Goldman knows his shit." Brian says nodding. "And Maya's right. You were amazing as always. Now, lets go get ice cream from the cafe." He says, swinging an arm around my waist and pulling me closer as we walk down the hall and into the cafe, where the parents set up an ice cream bar with all the proceeds going to charity.

* * *

"Well that was an adventure." Cam says, sitting down and letting out a huff. "Oh yeah. WHS kids love ice cream. Should have warned you. And all the privileged ones like to get it first. They try to be the hipsters of life." I say, stirring around my cup of ice cream. "You said it sister." Brian says, putting his hand up for a high five. "Its a little weird for you to call me sister. It means out make out sessions are bridging incest." I say, lowering his hand for him. "Didn't think that one through. That's why I have you right. The brains to my... brains." He says, putting his arm over my shoulder and kissing my cheek. "Love you to." I say back, pulling him in for another kiss. "You taste like chocolate." I say laughing and returning to his ice cream. "Then its good you're not allergic or that could have been disastrous." He says smiling and spooning ice cream into his mouth. "You got a little..." I say, taking a napkin and wiping the chocolate from his face. "What would I do without you?" "Oh you'd just be a mess." I say. "Double meaning... freaky. Socrates." "You get crazy when you're overtired." "And you get even more beautiful... is that even possible?" "And there go the compliments. He's about to crash guys. we better get him home." "I'll drive." Cam says, pulling out his keys.

* * *

We prop him up on the couch at Cam's. Maya called her parents, seeing as it was getting kind of late, and said we'd stay at Cam's for the night. Her parents trust her and say its fine.

About 10 minutes later Brian's asleep and we cover him with a blanket, flipping through the channels. Its Friday night so we don't have to get to bed anytime soon. "Thanks for helping me get him to sleep." I say, sitting down next to him and putting his legs on my lap. His lips form a faint smile. "Why are we more peaceful in sleep?" I ask no one in particular, brushing hair from his eyes. "He's escaping. Sleep is a beautiful, beautiful thing. We get away for awhile and think of better things." Maya says, grabbing waters from the fridge and tossing me one. "That was oddly beautiful.." I say with furrowed brows. "Thanks." She says, lying down next to Cam and putting her head on his chest. "Its the same reason I lay my head on his chest... Just knowing that he's okay... The reassurance is comforting." She says, kicking off her shoes and curling her feet in.

* * *

"Peanuts don't make me thirsty. Peanut butter makes me thirsty." "Why are we dating?" Maya says, playfully punching Cam's arm. Maya and Cam had yet again gotten into a strange debate about snack foods. This time it was about whether or not to open the bag of reeses cups in the cabinet. Cam didn't want to because we're running low on milk. To which Maya replied, "You and peanuts," shaking her head in disapproval. "Screw it. I'm getting them. Live on the wild side Saunders." She joked, making a peace sign and walking into the kitchen to grab the bag of candy.

"What I miss." Brian says, opening his eyes and sitting up a little too quickly. "Nothing B, go back to bed." "No bed time. Bed boring, you however..." He says with a twinkle in his eyes as he pulled me down to him. "I'm about to fall asleep. How about a rain check." I say, holding myself up and looking down at him. "Alright, but if you wake up at 3AM and want to make out, I'm gonna have to say no." He says jokingly. "Alright bossman." I say kissing his forehead and lying down next to him, suddenly overcome with tiredness, falling asleep in his protective arms.

* * *

"Morning." I say, stretching my arms above my head. "Hello?" I say, looking around the empty living room." I get up from the couch and walk around the house. The garage door opens. "hello?" I say, opening the door and looking into the garage. "hello sleeping beauty." Brian says, kissing my forehead and walking into the house with a tray of coffees. Cam and Maya follow close behind with dunkin donuts bags.

They set down the bags and drinks on the island. "Alright. We drove forever to get these. Brian said it was the best. I hope to god he's right." Maya says, sitting on a stool at the bar and kicking off her shoes, rubbing her feet. "Oh trust me, it's the best you'll have." I say, walking to the island and picking up a coffee, taking a big gulp. "Oh my god. I think it's even better in Canada." I say, opening a bag and taking out a glazed donut. "That's our motto." Cam says, grabbing his drink and sitting next to Maya. She puts her feet on his lap. "You're lucky I let you do that." He says, poking at her feet. "You're lucky I'm doing it." She says, poking his side playfully.

The door creaks opens and the scuffling of feet nears the kitchen. A middle aged women walks in the room. Cam carefully takes Maya's feet off of his lap and walks toward the woman. "Mom?"

* * *

**So Goika, is a name my friend Liz gave to me when she first met me, thinking I had said Goika instead of Gioia. Also, the peanut butter thing is something my friend Danielle and I heard in a CVS in a mall near us. Its one of the many inside jokes I've hidden for my friends and wonderful boyfriend who endure my crap writing. **

**Anyway, hope you liked it. It may be a while till the next update. I have so many projects these next couple weeks and I don't know when I'll be able to write more of this again. Anyhoosle, please review if you get a minute, they all make my day, no matter how big or small, I love em all. **

**Have a great day Degrassians! **


	33. Mother Knows Best

**Authors note:** I'm so sorry I haven't had a chapter out in forever. That's just the way it goes sometimes, way too much school work on my end, but once summer starts, I'll be able to write so many more updates, I promise.

**DISCLAIMER: SELF HARM TRIGGERS.**

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**Chapter 33: Mother Knows Best**

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"Mom, what are you doing here?" Cam asks with furrowed brows. "I came down to visit! You sounded sad on the phone and I wanted to check in." She says with a large smile. Cam embraces her tightly. "I missed you." He says, though his words are muffled by her sweater. "I missed you too Campbell. I can't walk 10 steps down main street without someone asking about you. Everyone misses you" She says, stressing the 'everyone'. "Is she okay?" "Yes... she's just fine. She wanted to visit but had to catch up on some assignments." "Tell her I miss her." He says, looking away. "I will Cam... Now, onto more important business. Who do we have here?" She asks, looking at the three of us. "Well you know Maya." He says, taking her hand in his. "Hello Mrs. Saunders. Its nice to see you again." She says with a grin from ear to ear. "Its good seeing you too honey." She says, extending her arms out and hugging Maya.

"And these are two of our closest friends. Gioia and Brian. I worked with Gioia over the summer at REC camp. Brian is her boyfriend." Cam says, gesturing our way. "Well it is a pleasure to met you both." "Likewise." I say, extending my hand out to her. "Oh, I'm not that kind of mother. Hugs are the way to go." She says winking. "Hahaha. You remind me a lot of my dad. He's always saying that." I say, releasing from her grasp. "Its very nice to meet you Mrs. Saunders. Cam has been very gracious in the time I've known him." "My upstanding young man." SHe says, pinching Cam's cheeks. "Mom. Please stop. This is more embarrassing then when you sent me to school with Isabella's barbie lunch box. I hear they're still talking about it back home." He jokes, escaping his mother's grip. "Okay, okay. But its kinda my job. I have to get back to the hotel. We'll have dinner later, all of you. My treat." She says, grabbing her bags and walking to the door. "I love you mom." Cam says, hugging her again. "I love you too sweetie." She whispers, kissing the top of his head and walking out the door.

"Aww, she's so cute!" I say, finishing my last bite of donut. "I missed her so much!" Maya says, wiping crush from her hands onto her pants and standing next to Cam. "I swear she was more excited to see you than she was to see me." "I can have that effect on people." She jokes, entwining their fingers and walking him back lover to where they'd sat before.

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"I have so much to do!" I mumble to myself, my hands in my hair, staring down at my agenda book and rifling through papers. "Something wrong?" Brian asks, entering the kitchen and pouring a glass of orange juice. "I'm stressed out. I need a break." Brain says after drinking a large gulp of juice. "Come with me." He says, taking my hand in his. "I have something I wanted to show you for awhile, now seems like the perfect time." "Please tell me you're not part of a cult." "Hahahaha. No, I promise its not a cult." He says, leading me outside. "It's not far." He says, squeezing my hand to get my attention. "So you say." "So I know." He says coyly, a playful grin on his lips. "You're lucky you're cute." I say, playfully nudging him.

"We're almost there." He says, not 5 minutes later. "We're in the middle of nowhere." "Which means we're there." He says, squeezing my hand in excitement and moving a tree limb, revealing an abandoned playground. Brian leads me to a rusty bench. "Why here?" I ask, furrowing my brow. "Listen." He says, putting a finger to my lips. I hear the faint sound of wind chimes as the trees rustle with a soft breeze. "Wow." I whisper, getting up and walking through the park. Brian follows close behind. "I found it when I was walking around a few weeks ago. Isn't it beautiful?" He asks as I stop at the broken swings, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I smile gently and take his hand in mine, walking to an area with lush grass and laying down, looking into the clear blue sky. "Its so serene" I say, closing my eyes and yawning. I turn my head to face him. "Thank you for taking me here." "No trouble my sweet. You needed a distraction. And I know I'm distracting." He mocks sarcastically. "Hahahaha. You're amazing." I say, closing my eyes and tuning everything out.

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"Wake up." Brian whispered, kissing my forehead gently. I began stretching my arms over my head. "What time is it?" I say through a yawn, pulling myself up. "Never you mind. But we should be heading home soon, its getting kinda dark. "Carry me." I say, putting my arms up. "Your wish is my command." He says, leaning down. "What?" "Piggy back ride. Get on." He says winking. I laugh softly and hoist myself onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing the top of his head. "Up, up and away!" He says, running home. "hahahahahaha. Slow it down are you trying to kill me?" "I guess you'll never truly know until you read my memoir." He says, putting my down carefully and linking my hand in his.

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"Where have you two been?" Maya asks as we walk through the door. Cam is handing her clean dishes from the sink. She begins meticulously drying and stacking them in piles before beginning to put them away. "Out." Brian says, closing the door behind us and walking into the kitchen, picking up a granny smith apple and rubbing against his shirt before taking a bite. "Okay. Once we're done here I need your help Gigi. I can't for the life of me pick an outfit for tonight and I only have like two hours to get ready." "I got your back Jack." I say, helping her to put the rest of the dishes away and grabbing our coats. "Okay. We'll be back in a few hours. Don't burn the place down." I say, pointing a finger at Cam. "And don't get into any trouble." I say, shifting my finger over to Brian. "How could I get in trouble." "You always find a way." I say, walking over to him and kissing him briefly. "Bye." I say, holding the door open for Maya and locking it with my spare key.

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**Maya's POV **

We stepped into my room. I forgot how messy it had become. "Ignore my piles of dirty laundry, I know I need to get around to it. I've had zero time lately for stuff other than school work." I say, clearing my bed of dirty laundry and patting part of my bed for her to sit on. "I completely understand, trust me. My room back home was a constant disaster." She says grinning. "Alright. Let me see what I'm working with." She says, walking over to my dresser and opening drawers, pulling shirts rapidly. "Done." She says triumphantly not a minute later. She begins laying the clothes on the bed. "Gray ballet flats, a floral sundress and a dusty rose cardigan. Now, onto jewelry." She states, opening my jewelry box and pulling more items. "Rose earrings and a gold music note necklace." She says, her grin widening. "You're brilliant." I say, taking the clothes and walking to my closet, stepping in a turning on the blight, beginning to change. "Now, the key to a great outfit is feeling confident. And the only way I know how to do that is with a dance party." She says, clicking play on my ihome. Music fills the room.

"Is it too much?" I ask, stepping out from the closet and walking to my full length mirror, adjusting the skirt of my dress and putting my earrings in. "It's just enough. Now turn around." She says, grabbing the necklace and clasping it around my neck. "Now sit sit sit. I wanna get to makeup time." She says smiling as she walks out of the room. Returning with a curling iron, paddle brush, and a makeup kit. She plugs in the curling iron and waits for it to heat up, pulling makeup from her bag and instructing me to brush my hair.

After she was done rummaging through her bag and my hair was sufficiently untangled, she began applying foundation with a sponge, concentration evident in her eyes. Once she looked satisfied she covered a brush in powder and dabbing it onto my face. She then put a thin coat of mascara on my lashes and spreading a coat of chapstick over my lips.

"Alright. Now the hair." She says, turning the radio up as the song 'Somebody That I Used to Know" began playing. She wrapped my hair around the barrel and released in time to the music. Finishing my hair by applying a few spritz of hairspray. "Alright. Go look at you. You look hot." She says, flopping onto my bed as I walk to the mirror and examine myself. She kept the makeup light, enhancing the features I already have. She made me look good, without turning me into something I'm not. "Enjoy. I gotta go get ready. Meet you back here in 20." She say, hauling herself out into the hallway and through her doorway, turning her music up and pulling the drawer out, beginning to pick clothes. My phone rings.

**Cam: Good evening my sweet. Are you two almost ready?**

**Me: I'm good. She'll be done in 5. See you soon Cheesey. With love, M.**

I type back, a goofy grin spreading across my face. "Hey M. I'm ready when you are." she says, emerging from her room in a pastel pink sundress with cream lace covering the the back, her hair straightened with light makeup, fiddling with a safety pin resting unopened in the palm of her hand. "Why are you-" "Oh, uh, it's nothing." She says, tightening her grasp on the pin and putting on a denim jacket, placing the pin in the pocket, her smile somewhat returning. She exhales deeply before speaking. "So, what time are the boys getting here?" "Five, maybe ten minutes." I say, concern evident in my voice. "Alright." She says, with unfocused eyes and a somber voice. "Are you okay?" I ask, walking to her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What a complicated answer. Excuse me." She says uneasily, gently removing my hand from her shoulder and walking downstairs quietly.

I walk into her room. Everything seems to be normal. I see her phone on her bed. It lights up with a text from a boy named Wes.

**Wes: Hang in there Gee. I believe in you :)**

I unlock her phone (she'd given me the passcode in case of emergency). She has about 11 messages. I click on each name.

**Danielle: Oh honey. I wish I could be there to hug you. I have half a mind to fly up there. I love you**

**Mia: Stay positive baby monkey.**

All the messages say the same thing. Nothing pointing to the reason behind them. Another message popped up.

**Gabe: I know I'm not your favorite person in the world all things considered, but I just want you to know that I know what you're going through. It's not easy, that much I can tell you. And it takes time to get over. And I want you to know that you can call me if you wanna talk about it. I'm not gonna judge you or whatever.**

I click on missed calls (16). 2 from Wes, 6 from Danielle, and 8 from her Dad. I lock her phone and put it in my pocket, walking down stairs.

She sits in the unlit kitchen silently, playing with the safety pin she'd stashed in her pocket. She picks her head up, her back to me, her voice fragil. "She's dead." She says with uncomfortable laughter. Shock washes over my face. "Who's dead?" I ask, walking up behind her cautiously. "Mumsie dearest." She says sarcastically, opening up the safety pin and examining her wrist. Without hesitation she glides the sharp edge across her wrist, watching as blood oozed out. "What are you-" " That one's for you mom. Nice and deep too, I know how much you loved to watch us in pain. There ya go." She says with a devilish grin, ignoring my words and walking upstairs and into my room, grabbing a can of hairspray and opening it, spritzing the liquid onto the fresh cut. "What the-" "This way, the cut will puff up ya know... get all big and pink. That way she knows what she's done to me." Her breathing gets heavier, she begins to shake. "That's right Ma, your daughter's a cutter. aren't you proud mom... AREN'T YOU PROUD!" She says, throwing the can across the room and falling to her knees in hysterics.

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**So you know how I told you guys before that I'm not a self harmer? Well, it was true then. Now, not so much. And my Mom's not dead, but if you knew my story, you too would like that alternative.**

**Review please and have a good day Degrassians**


	34. You'll Never See The Scars You Left

**Chapter 34: "You'll Never See the Scars You Left"**

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**Maya's POV**

I walk over to her shaking body and crouch beside her, rubbing her back to sooth her unsteady breathing and gulping for air. "I know you and your mom didn't have the best relationship-" "Try worst relationship ever. I'm happy she's dead. Now no one will suffer from her evil-doing. We're free." She says, looking at her wrist. "You know it didn't used to be like this." She says, calming down slightly and wiping away tears with her palm, sitting up. "I used to be happy with myself. I was ultra confident and excited about everything. But then the reality that I'm nothing special hit, I turned to this." She says, gesturing to her wrist. "I hadn't cut in 2 years. I guess all that's down the drain." She says, slumping back down. "You can get over this. You have power over it. Today was a slip-up. It would have happened to anyone-" "But not to me. I don't feel when it comes to her. Over the years my emotions have all blurred together. I'm numb, I cut to feel something- anything but the numbness that keeps me awake at night, staring at the walls and wishing I could escape life. That I could be anyone but myself. What kind of sick, twisted person would feel that way?" "A person like me." Cam says, walking into the room. I hadn't heard him come in.

He walks into the room and sits next to her convulsing body, his hair wet from the rain dropping in buckets. "I get it. I really really do. I felt like shit all the time. I wished I could just leave my body and have someone else's life." He helps her sit up and she embraces him tightly. "Please stay." She says in a voice akin to a scared toddler, her head on his shoulder, crying into his soaked sweatshirt. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." He says, squeezing her slightly tighter and rubbing the back of his hand across her back to soothe her sobbing. "I don't want to do it." She says, pulling her arm out from between them. "I know." He says, running his fingers over her crimson stained arm. "I know." He repeats, kissing the side of her head and holding her tighter.

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**My POV**

I don't know about grief. I've been lucky in my life in that regard. I've had grandparents die, sure, everyone has, but they were from the other side of the family. We'd never met. The rain had progressed from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour. I changed from my dress into pajamas and kept my window open, in hopes of having the rain drown out my thoughts. Per usual, it didn't work. Brian and Mrs. Saunders came over later. Brian told me later that Cam ran through the rain to get to the house. My knight in shining denim.

"Hey. You still up?" Brain asks, turning around in the bed and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Yeah." I say, taking his hand into mine, rubbing my thumb against his palm in reassurance. "I don't wanna miss her." "I know... I know." He whispers, kissing my neck. "She made my life hell." "That I know too." He says with a sigh. "I hope you know that no matter what happens, I'm here for you." He says squeezing my waist, then rolling onto his back. I do the same. "I know, but you don't get it." "Excuse me?" "You have this perfect life, with your perfect family and friends. Then there's me, your damaged girlfriend who slits her wrists just to feel something." I say, exhaling loudly and turning away. "I will love you no matter how many scares you have. It's you and me till the end. It's getting kinda late though. Goodnight beautiful." He says, taking my hand in his and looking into my eyes before kissing my cheek and entering a dream state.

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**Cam's POV**

I lay on my back in Maya's bed. Restless. "You okay?" Maya asks, rubbing my arm with her perfectly polished nails. "No." "You know you can tell me anything right" "Yeah, I do know M." I say, sitting up from bed. "Its just... That was me. I hate to admit it, but I feel like cutting again. I know I shouldn't M, But. I don't know. Its hard to explain." I say, turning away from her, ashamed of what I'd admitted. "I know Cam. I'm trying to understand as best I can. I mean, I get it. I just don't ever want you to feel that way okay? You can always come to me. Even if you and I are in a huge fight. We can put it aside for a bit. Okay?" "Thank you My. You are the one thing in my life I don't regret." I say with a half-hearted laugh. After that we sit in an awkward silence. Then, she falls asleep. I still lay awake, counting her breaths. I close my sagging eyes, and the next thing I know, its morning.

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I woke up and walked into Gigi's room. She sat on her bed, knees to her chest, watching her watering eyes desperately trying not to cry.

"Hey." I say, knocking on the door which was open a crack. "You can come in." She says, uncurling her legs and laying them on the bed. "Oh, wow." I say looking at the fresh cuts on her thighs. "I hate myself." She says, turning her face away. "Here." I say, taking a sticky note from a pile on her desk and scribbling a number onto it. "This is Doctor Amy. She's my psychiatrist, because of her, I haven't cut in three months." I say, rolling up my sleeves and showing her my wrists and forearms, the places I usually used to cut. "I may just take you up on that." She says, wiping a tear and placing the sticky note on her cork board. "You can overcome this Gee." I say, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "Thank you." "Now, let's get you cleaned up." I say, looking at her blood soaked thighs and walking to the bathroom, wetting a cloth and rubbing alcohol, as well as a pack of band aids.

I began by putting the water soaked towel on her leg and instructing her to apply pressure. I then grabbed a few cotton balls and cleaned the more gruesome ones with the rubbing alcohol. After that step I put band aids on the bleeders; giraffes, to make her smile. She's got a thing for giraffes. "Now. Would you look at that." I say smiling. "All better." "You're so kind and sweet to me. I love you." She says bringing me into a hug. "I love you too." I say, pushing fly away hairs from her forehead and kissing it briefly, before cleaning the mess and exiting her room. It wasn't a romantic kiss, not in the slightest. It was an 'I can help you, I know you're hurt' kiss.

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**My POV**

"My first cut was May 9th 2013. I'll never forget that day. I was in math going over some shit with the calculators and none of us were getting it. Everyone was beyond frustrated. I remember throwing down my calculator in frustration. Then I mumbled something like 'I give up'. My teacher heard it and said 'you give up way too easily.' Then I went off on him. Saying that I've been through way too much crap to take this right now. I told him that if he was me, this would have set him over the edge. I told him everything. Mom's cheating, refusal of medication for her bipolar disorder, the munchausen by proxy. Everything. He, and everyone in the class, just stood there with mouths agape. I ran to the bathroom and fished a safety pin out of my bag. Then I went into the stall and started cutting. My arm wouldn't stop bleeding. Luckily on my frantic way to the nurse I ran into Sasha. She's the president of the LGBT club at school. She saw my arm and brought me back to the bathroom, then started cleaning my cuts and took out a baggie with band aids in it.

She told me she used to cut but has been self harm free for two years now. She then gave me her sweatshirt to hide my arm. She's back home in Massachusetts. I send her letters sometimes. She says emailing is boring and real letter writing is where its at. Thanks to her I had been a year sober of self harm. But I relapsed. I'm really afraid I'll keep going too. Cut so deep that I bleed out, without thinking twice. Does that make me crazy." I say to a woman with strawberry blonde hair, clicking and unclicking her pen against her notebook, profusely scribbling down notes and then thinking.

Cam took me to his psychiatrist, Dr. Callie. She wanted me to explain my history with cutting. Her eyes are focused on me as she stares, deep in thought. A timer goes off, taking us both away from our thoughts. "I'm sorry, our time is up. It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to many more sessions. Next week same time?" She asks, walking me to the reception desk and filling out a note on a pad of paper. "Now. Take this and have the men downstairs fill it for you. Take two a day. See you next week Gioia, it was nice meeting you. She says, handing me the slip with a wide smile on her face, shaking my hand and walking off down the hall.

"How'd it go." Cam asks, walking noiselessly beside me. "I think I'm gonna make it yet." I say, tousling his hair and walking with him to get my prescription filled before going home.

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"Here." I say, handing Maya a small tin. "What's this?" She asks, examining the silver exterior. "It's my kit. I want you to hang onto it for me. I don't wanna see it again. Dr. Callie says it will be bad to have it around me, but better to have someone hide it." I say gesturing to it. "Sure thing. I want you to get better Gee. And I know you can. You're stronger than this." She says, bringing me into a tight hug. "You got some mail today too." She says walking to the kitchen and picking up an envelope. "Its from your Dad" She says as I rip the light blue paper. "Oh joy." I say, beginning to read the letter to myself. "Hey Double G, I know you, and me especially never liked your mother. But the wakes tomorrow if you change your mind. Enclosed are plane tickets home. I don't expect you to come. She hurt all of us, but you, JJ, Ed, and Mima especially. I love you, Faja." I read aloud to Maya. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, she spoke up. "Are you gonna go?" "Sure. That way I can visit people at home at least. Free vacation anyway." I say in an awkward laugh. "You're much braver than I am." "No, I just hide it well. Years of practice."

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"Good morning class! I hope your weekends were fun. Today, we have a special treat, Gioia has written something she'd like to read to us." Miss. Dawes says the next morning in English. I walk up the front of the room and clear my throat.

"Hi. I'd like to read a poem I wrote over the weekend. I'm not too good a written so no making fun. But feedback would be appreciated." I say, before clearing my throat again and beginning to read from my journal.

_"Mommy Dearest_

_Cradled in her arms, pink_  
_Scratchy blanket_

_Forced smiles and infectious pain_

_First steps toppling over_

_Slamming doors and muffled sobs_

_Crayons and crying_

_Heart shattered, drowning_

_Cars speed off,_

_Alone and spinning head_

_Tears fall and dry_

_on their own_

_Shame, they say, seemed so kind_

_Cuts and scraps,_

_Self inflicted_

_Mumsie is gone,_

_Dearest is dead"_

No one speaks. Steps come toward me. "Dark. I like this one." I boy with black hair says, his mouth turned into a sideways smile. "E-Eli?" Miss. Dawes asks, walking toward him. "Hello Miss. Dawes. You've got talent here." He says, nodding his head in my direction. "Th-thanks." I say, my body beginning to shake in nervousness. "That's your Christi." Cam says loudly, winking at me. My eyes grow wide as I look for his reaction. "Well I'll be. See you around, Tourchard Soul." He says, smiling at me and leaving the room. "Well. Today is just full of surprises. And there's the bell. See you all tomorrow." Ms. Dawes says, marking notes in her notebook and crossing to her desk as we pack our bags and make our way to the next class.

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"Hey Sam." **"She looks up from the bench, her hair a mess from the rain."** Clare narrates as we start rehearsal that afternoon. "Christi? Is that you." "In all my glory." I say in a sarcastic tone. "You look tired. Let me drive you home." "I don't need you to do that." **"She gets up from the bench, a sense of urgency in her voice."** Eli narrates. He'd come down to see how the production was coming along. "Its the least I can do. Come on Christi. It's no trouble..." "But I am. Your parents hate me. Am I really that awful?" I say, looking down at my palms, sitting back down at the bench. "Well you talk in your sleep." Zig jokes, walking over and sitting next to me, a consoling arm placed over my shoulder. I snicker lightly. "Well thats downright scandalous." I joke, moving myself deeper into his grasp. "Now. Lets get you home okay?" He asks, kissing my cheek and taking my hand, walking me in the direction of his car.

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**Gabe's POV**

I miss her. I mean sure, I've had other girls. Who hasn't? I'm just saying that I want her back. I'm just afraid I'll lose her again.

Per her request Niamh and I started dating. She's not very bright, or very talented or funny. She's just willing to give it up. I guess what I'm saying is that... I need more than attractiveness. It just took too long to figure it out.

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"Good morning Gabe." Niamh said, walking from the into my bedroom with nothing but one of my shirts on, she hair down in its cocoa brown waves. "Morning." I say, kissing her before returning to my phone. "Why are you always on that thing? Am I not enough for you?" She says in huffed anger. "Don't be like that. You know how I feel about you." I say, lying through my teeth. "Alright. Now let's go back to bed." She says winking and beginning to remove her clothing. Then my phone rings. "Really. You're gonna answer it now?" "I'm tired. And I really need to talk to someone." I say, grabbing my phone and walking out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, the only room in the house with a lock on it.

**John: Ian told me she's gonna be home for a few days. This may be your last chance bro.**

Then I knew what I had to do. I ran back to my room and grabbed my coat and shoes, then running downstairs and into my car. "It's now or never." I whispered to myself. Putting the keys in the ignition.

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**This chapter took awhile for me to write. I hope you all like it. For the most part the cutting story is true. Except I sat in my class in silence, scratching my arm until I bled and sobbing. Then one of my friends in that class took me to the bathroom to clean up an calm down. I do know Sasha was a self harmer though. She is a girl who has had to endure more than I can even fathom. She is far braver than I am. All parts about my Mother (except her death) are true.**

**Stay happy Degrassians, Squeegee G**

**P.S. Any Arrested Development fans out there? I'm so pissed at the ending of this season, but so glad they did it. Maeby's episode was my favorite. But the ending! Grrr. **


	35. I Guess it's Really Over

**Chapter 35: "I Guess It's Really Over..."**

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**Gabe's POV**

I'd made it to the center of down before I stopped to think about what I was doing. Does she even still like me? I ruined her life, she wouldn't want a guy like me... right?

I heard a knock at my window and rolled it down, revealing a less than excited Danielle. "Hey Steve, what's the haps?" I ask, getting out of the catering van. I'd started calling her Steve in 7th grade. She used to wear a green striped sweater like Steve Burns on Blues Clues. "Don't play coy with me you insensitive ass. I know why you're here." She says, a disgruntled look on her face as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Oh, and why is that?" I ask as nonchalantly as I can. "Because you still want her. You know that she's better off without you. I know it, you know it, Niamh knows it. Just stay away from her, okay?" "Whatever you say." I murmur as I walk past her and into Victoria's.

* * *

"Hello my son. You look particularly annoyed today. Why might this be?" Dad asks, not looking up from the chicken he'd been preparing. "Is it about a girl?" He asks, a mischievous grin on his face. "Actually yes. But she wants nothing to do with me." "But you are a good kid. Why couldn't she see that?" "Let's just say I did some bad things and hurt a lot of people close to her." "My son would never do such a thing." "Then I must not be your son." I say looking at the floor and walking farther into the kitchen, grabbing an apple and biting into it. "You are too my son. You have my eyes." "Yeah, and Mom's tendency to skip out on people." "Your mother is a wonderful women-" "Then why did she leave us!" I say, slouching to the ground, head in my hands. "There are some things that can not be explained my son. But its important for you to know that she loves you very much. Its just hard for her to show it. That's all. Go and fight for this girl. We DeSouza men only fight for those that have true goodness in them. And if she is worth your time, she'll understand." He says, sitting down next to me, his hand on my shoulder. "But she's not the problem... I am." I say, quickly getting up and walking out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Hey. Miss me?" I heard a voice call from behind me flirtatiously. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me as I got out of the car yet again, this time to pump gas. "Oh, hi." I say, turning to see Lauren, disappointment evident in my voice. She'd dressed herself in a skin-tight black dress and 2 inch heels. She wore her hair down and hoop earrings shown from the sunlight's reflection when she moved. She was wearing far too much makeup. "What are you doing here?" I ask, removing her hands and turning to face her. "I heard you and Niamh hit a rough patch... I can help if you need me. You know where to find me." She said far too sultry for my liking. She then took a card from her purse and slipped it into my front shirt pocket. She then walked away, making it a point to elongate her legs and stick out both her butt and her chest.

When she was a safe distance away I pulled out the card. It read simply: why aim for the best when you can have the rest? Lauren White, boyfriend stealer and professional kisser. Along with a phone number at the bottom and an off-putting winky face.

* * *

I walked down the street, hands stuffed in my pockets, stifling a yawn. "Hey." I hear a boys voice say. "She doesn't want to see you." He says as I turn to face him. "I want to see her, and if she really doesn't want to see me, I'll go." I say, pushing his shoulder and walking past him. "I'm her boyfriend. It's my job to protect her." "No, Brian's her boyf- she's cheating on him." I say, bewilderment washing over my face. "But she. But, but he." "They're growing apart. Stepping in. And I'll make you regret it if you get in my way." He says, pushing me to get by.

* * *

**My POV**

I sit at my house, watching tv with my siblings when someone knocks at the door.

"Hi." "What are you doing here?" "I wanted to see you. I love you dammit. As I know about you as the other guy." He says, a bit too loudly. I pull him into a nearby room. "What are you talking about?" I say, my eyes narrowing at his smug look. "You and the boy with the black hair. Don't try to hide it. I'm not stupid." "You think you're so high and mighty? You've cheated on every girlfriend you've ever had! Don't try to preach your shit to me. I don't need relationship advice, especially from you." I say, slowly advancing on him. "We're more alike than you think." He mumbles, walking past me and out of the room. I was left with nothing but my thoughts.

_Sure, I'm flirting with Zig. I'll give Gabe that one. But I'm not cheating right? At least... I don't think I'm cheating._

I put on my shoes and started running.

* * *

**Zig's POV**

After taking a long walk around the small suburban town, I sat in the bench of the nearby park, my mind deep in thought

_I know it was a low blow. I mean, we're not __**really**__ going out. But you can't blame a guy from trying._

"Can I talk to you?" Asked a voice from behind me. "Sure." I say turning, a fake smile plastered on my face. "Gigi, why are you crying?" I ask, rushing to her side. "Brian and I broke up. I mean, we were pretty much fighting every day and well, he doesn't understand." She says, showing off her scars. Instinctively, my fingertips glide over the ridged scars. "Woah. I." "Oh yeah, I'm a real winner. Go insecure me!" She says, tears clouding her eyes once more. "Come on, sit down. What's wrong?" I ask, digging a tissue from my pocket and handing it to her. "He gets mad at me when I don't do things his way and has stopped caring. I feel like I'm back living with mom. Oh wait, she's dead." She says, throwing her hands in the air and trying to keep back the tears, though her voice had become shaky. "Come on. Lets get out of here." I say, standing and putting a consoling arm around her waist as we walk away from the park. Away from everything, and everyone.

* * *

**So Brian and I broke up a few days ago. I'm fine. I did the breaking, but to be honest, it sucks not having anyone there. And I lied to you guys, in the 11 month span of my relationship, we never kissed. Yeah, I know, its pretty weird. Whatever, and my triggers are back, oh goodie. Hope you guys are having better days then mine.**

**Stay positive, SqueegeeG**


	36. Park Benches and Self Reflection

**Chapter 36: Park Benches and Self Reflection**

* * *

**My POV**

It had been a weird week, going through all the motions of a regular day in my morning routine. But for some reason, not apparent to me, things were about to get better; though they hadn't started out so peachy.

* * *

**Flashback**

"Just come to bed. It's late." Brian says, patting the vacant space next to him. We had been in my sister's old room. It could accommodate better for two than my room could. It must have been around 2AM. I was restless, pacing throughout the floral dominated room. "I won't be able to sleep. I'm wired." I say, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Okay. I just want you to be okay for tomorrow. Emotions will be running higher than normal." He says ominously, sitting up rubbing my back and whispering with soothing words. "Alright. Goodnight." I say, kissing him quickly and getting under the covers, still unable to sleep. Left with nothing but my thoughts until morning came

* * *

"Morning!" I say to no one, discovering that Brian isn't in bed. I get out of bed and stretch my hands over my head, my joints crackling like embers in a roaring fire.

"Hello?" I ask, walking through the room and then downstairs. "Brian?" "He's not here." My sister says, pouring cereal into a bowl and walking to the fridge to pour milk. "He left a note though." She says, grabbing a spoon and taking a bite of Cheerios.

I walk to the pot rack and unclip the note, sealed in a blue envelope. I begin to read it.

**Gee,**

**You're gonna hate me, but this is for the best. I cheated on you. I've been seeing another girl. Her name's Julia. I started seeing her during that crazy time we were apart. I kept it going, she didn't mind the long distance thing. Enclosed is my ring. I don't feel right wearing it anymore. I love you, but I don't expect you to love me anymore. Hell, I hate me. And I hate that I did this to you. So if you're gonna hate me, you have every reason to. I'm sorry ~ B**

"That arrogant motherfucker." I mumble, crumpling the paper up and tossing it over my shoulder. I quickly go upstairs and change into sweats. With my frizzy hair in a bun I rush back down the stairs, taking two at a time. "Are you okay?" My sister asks, arms folded over her chest, concern growing in her eyes. "I'll be fine. I just need to clear my head." I say, opening the door and bolting down the street, running as fast as my stocky legs can take me.

* * *

My sneakered feet squeak as I trample over the cold pavement, breathing faster as my lungs began to burn. I ran until I nearly collapsed, at the park 3 miles outside of my neighborhood. It becomes harder to breath as my vision is blurred by my silent sobbing. I stop at a park bench and start hyperventilating, my knees becoming weaker with every step. I suddenly hear myself speaking. "Can I talk to you?" I ask, tears clouding my vision. "Sure." Zig says turning, a wide smile plastered on his face that began to fade, fast. "Gigi, why are you crying?" He asks, rushing to my side. I mustered all the courage I could gather and began to speak once more. "Brian and I broke up. I mean, we were pretty much fighting every day and well, he doesn't understand." I say, rolling up my sleeves and wiping away my tears. His fingertips glide over the ridged scars on my arm. "Woah. I." I hadn't even noticed I was showing them off. It had been such an off morning. I mean, its not like I wanted him to see them, but he has a right to know right?

"Oh yeah, I'm a real winner. Go insecure me!" I say, tears welling up once more. "Come on, sit down. What's wrong?" He asks, digging a tissue from his pocket and handing it to me. I take a deep breath before beginning, my voice shaky. "He gets mad at me when I don't do things his way and has stopped caring. I feel like I'm back living with mom. Oh wait, she's dead." I say, throwing my hands in the air and trying to keep back tears."Come on. Lets get out of here." He says, standing and putting a consoling arm around my waist as we walk away from the park. Away from my fleeting thoughts and inconsolable crying.

* * *

**Reality**

I sit back in my bed, headphones in and music turned up all the way, blaring into my ears. I escape to a state of peace and serenity, my foot tapping to the rhythm of the music. "Hey. Can I come in?" Zig asks, knocking on the slightly open door to my room. I'd taken a shower and gotten into my fuzzy polka dot pants. "Sure." I say, taking my earbuds out and sitting cross-legged on my bed. "Can I join you." He asks, a smile playing on his lips. "Sure." I say, cracking my knuckles and making room for his tall frame.

"Are you gonna be okay?" He asks, furrowed brows and all. "I hope so. I've been through worse." I say, throwing my legs onto his lap and stretching out over my bed. "You're drifting space cadet, you gonna make it?" He asks, his smile growing. "I just need to get some sleep... can-can you stay with me?" I ask, a pout in the works. "I'm not going anywhere." He says, grabbing a nearby pillow and placing it under his head. I look into his soft green eyes, then down to my hand, quickly removing the ring Brian had given me._ So long Brian Bierl, nice knowing ya._

* * *

**So, hey guys! With finals just around the corner I have had zero time to do anything. I churned this out when I should have been studying (whoops). Anyway, This is the last chapter of this story. I will be doing a continuation, but in another story. Time for new beginnings, have a great day Degrassians **


End file.
